Fragments
by Olive Hue
Summary: Cloud brings home a homeless person with amnesia... who looks disturbingly like Rufus Shinra. Will this bizarre turn of events affect the growing relationship between Vincent and Yuffie? Status: COMPLEEEETE!
1. Prologue

Fragments  
  
  
Prologue  
  
  
Silence wrapped the snowy night in its airtight cloak over the streets of Midgar. The city slept; even the drunkards, prostitutes, and homeless waifs had long since retreated to their corners and alleys. The only sounds that pierced the night air were detectable by stray animals alone.  
  
Suddenly a crash sounded in the direction of the abandoned Shin-ra headquarters. The bums and inebriated fools looked up in surprise as a lone figure stampeded out of the building, disoriented and very likely insane.  
  
One of the braver street people ventured away from his burning trash barrel and walked up to the crazed individual. The man was quite young, twenty at the most, with dishevelled blonde hair and wild blue eyes. He was very youthful in appearance, and the bum thought it a pity that such youth was wasted by his apparent mental instability.  
  
"Hey, calm down, son," said the homeless person, taking the young man by the shoulders. "Where do you think you're running off to so dern fast?"  
  
The boy's eyes widened in alarm. "Let go of me!!" he shouted, wrenching free of the other man's grip. "I don't know you!"  
  
The bum looked on, dumbfounded, as the poor raving boy stumbled away from him and ran off into the freezing night. The man shrugged and went back to his stationary campfire, and his companion, who had been sitting against the crumbling wall of an abandoned building, peered up at him.  
  
"What was that all about?" she asked.  
  
The man shrugged. "I dunno, but that boy was the spittin' image of President Shin-ra's son. You know, Rufus Shin-ra." 


	2. Chapter One

Chapter 1  
  
  
  
"Geez, Vinnie, can't you take a joke?!" exclaimed Yuffie Kisaragi. She gazed up at the dark man, who strained to look dignified even with raw egg on his face.  
  
Vincent glared back at her, for once showing emotion on his pallid face, even if it was anger. "I'm quite sure," he said dryly, wiping his face with a handkerchief, "that you would not retain your humor if you had been splattered with chocobo yolk."  
  
"Then you don't know me too well, do you?" she said playfully. Finally she had played a prank on Vincent Valentine! The man who never divulged in humor, and most likely didn't even know the meaning. She had to admit, it was more than fun dumping egg yolk on him as she hid in the loft of Cloud and Tifa's chocobo stable.  
  
He turned away from her harshly. "You are correct about that, Yuffie. I hardly know you, and I don't care to start getting acquainted with someone who is immature enough to play practical jokes on their seniors."  
  
*Man,* the young ninja thought to herself, *That was practically a speech for Vincent! Maybe I should apologize... But it was so hilarious!*  
  
She sighed emphatically. "Ohhh-kay, Vinnie. I'm sorry. I won't do it again. If you promise to smile, that is."  
  
He turned around to stare back at her, his garnet red eyes penetrating her to her very core. She shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny. She had always been slightly intimidated by the shadowy gunslinger. His colorless palor, his wicked-looking brass claw, and most of all his glowing ruby eyes. They were quite arresting; she could even venture to say they were beautiful, but they were also the eyes of a dark, haunted man.  
  
He spoke, finally breaking the staring match. "And why, Yuffie, would I have any reason to smile?" he said quietly.  
  
"Well, you know, I mean," she stammered. "You *should* smile, Vincent. People smile because they're..." She trailed off, realizing fully why the man never even raised the corner of his mouth. "Happy," she finished, sighing. "Sorry."  
  
"Now you know," he replied tonelessly. "We'd better go back to the house now. We don't want to get snowed in."  
  
She nodded silently as he opened the stable door. Yuffie waited for him to walk through, but he simply stood there. It took the ninja a while to realize he was holding the door for her.   
  
*Oh, yeah. I keep forgetting he's such a gentleman.*  
  
She walked through the door out into the snow, mumbling a thank you to the tall gunman. He followed her to Cloud and Tifa Strife's humble little cottage on the outskirts of Sector 6.   
  
Yuffie raced up the stairs toward the front door, only to realize that the steps were coated in a thick layer of ice. Her arms pinwheeled as she started to fall backward down to the bottom. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for impact, but they snapped open again as she felt two muscular arms grab her around the waist and snatch her off the porch. She looked up and saw Vincent coolly staring down at her. She blushed madly and quickly averted her gaze down to his chest, whereupon she began to blush even more deeply as she found her hands resting against the hard muscles of his torso.  
  
"Whoops," she said dumbly, yanking her hands off his chest.  
  
Vincent released his hold around her waist and stepped away. "I apologize, Yuffie. I should have warned you about the ice."  
  
She laughed sourly, trying to get her cheeks to stop burning. "You're apologizing for my stupidity?! You really are a gentleman, Vinnie."  
  
He took her hand wordlessly in his claw and helped her up the stairs to the front door. Once again, he opened the door and waited for her to enter the house. Insantly, she threw off her coat and gloves and collapsed next to the warm, crackling fireplace. Vincent, however, automatically went up the stairs to the second floor, brushing past Tifa as he went.  
  
"Hey, Vinnie, where are ya going so fast?" called Yuffie.  
  
"I'm going to take a shower," he replied flatly. "No doubt I still have egg imbedded in my scalp."  
  
Tifa lifted a dark brown eyebrow as she sat next to Yuffie at the fireplace. "What exactly did he mean by *that*?"  
  
Yuffie shrugged innocently. "Vinnie just can't take a joke, is all."  
  
"I should have known," said Tifa, laughing. "Poor Vincent."  
  
"Yeah, no kidding. That chocobo yolk will probably take a long time to come out. Oh, well, it'll make his hair shiny." For some reason, Yuffie got a mental picture of Vincent, shrouded by steam as he washed his long, silky, black hair, the hot water running off his taut, rippling muscles...  
  
"Yuffie, what's up with your face? It's all red."  
  
"Wha!?" she blurted, blinking furiously to dispel the unprovoked and insanely inappropriate image. *Gawd, Yuffie! What in the name of the Holy Materia are you thinking?! This is Vincent Valentine here. You're not supposed to be thinking about him like that!!*  
  
"Anyway," said Tifa slowly, "Cloud went to the takeout restaurant in Sector 5 to get something for dinner. He should be back pretty soon, so we're on our own until then."  
  
Yuffie nodded. "Mmkay, what do you want to do?"  
  
"Can I braid your hair?" asked Tifa, grinning.  
  
"Uhhh, okay." In the year that Yuffie had been living with the Strifes, her chestnut hair had grown past her shoulders. She still wore her headband, but she hadn't bothered to get her hair cut again. She was secretly glad.  
  
Tifa sat behind the young girl and separated her hair into three sections. As she began to weave them together, she laughed. "Now don't scream if I pull too hard. Vincent will probably fall in the shower."  
  
Yuffie laughed nervously.  
  
  
  
Vincent breathed deeply as he let the blazing hot water warm his chilled body. The cold weather outside had gotten to him more than he cared to admit. As he absently ran his human fingers through his wet hair, his mind went back to the moment he had arrvied at Cloud and Tifa's house.  
  
He had come all the way from his apartment in Junon to return the materia he had acquired during the time of crisis on the Planet to Cloud. He had only visited the Strifes once since they had gotten married, and it was only to offer belated congratulations since he had missed the wedding.  
  
Vincent had been surprised to say the least to find that Yuffie Kisaragi was living with them. Apparently Yuffie had run away from Wutai to escape the duties of being Lord Godo's daughter. Cloud and Tifa didn't approve, but they took her in when no one else had. Vincent had knocked on the door, expecting Tifa to answer since Cloud worked at a weapon shop, but was completely taken aback to see Yuffie swing the door wide open to greet him.  
  
"Why, Vincent Valentine, what a pleasant surprise!" she cried, wrapping her arms around his waist in a death grip. Vincent struggled to break free, but gave up after it became swiftly evident that she enjoyed this embrace. He sighed inwardly and rested his hands on her shoulders.  
  
He would never forget her face as she felt cold metal against her sleeveless shoulder. She instantly withdrew from the hug and backed away. "Uhh, hey Tifa, Vincent is here!" she called nervously. "Come on inside, Vinnie!"  
  
Afterwards, she tried to mask her discomfort, but Vincent could plainly see she was extremely intimidated by him, especially his claw. She looked at the hateful appendage with obvious fear, and he was ashamed to instill so much apprehensiveness in her. Now, looking down at his claw, the hot water forming shining beads on its surface, he realized that that must be the way everyone looked at him.  
  
He turned off the faucet and stepped out of the shower. Wrapping a towel around his slender waist, he wiped the fog off the bathroom mirror and gazed reproachfully at himself.  
  
*No wonder Yuffie's frightened to death of me,* he thought bitterly. *I'm a bloody mutant.*  
  
He was indeed an imposing creature. At a full six feet, he was all lean muscle, with glowing red eyes, skin as pale as a winter moon, and long, flowing black hair to complete the fearsome ensemble. And that was even without the hideous claw. Truly, if any woman was ever to look at him straight-on for more than five seconds, it was credited to paralyzing terror.  
  
Not that it mattered one bit to Yuffie after she had discovered the purpose of Vincent's visit. Once he had explained that he was there to return Cloud's materia, including Neo-Bahamut, Ultima, and Knights of the Round, Yuffie instantly slid next to Vincent on the living room couch and batted her eyelashes up at him.  
  
"Aww, Vinnie," she cooed. "Cloud doesn't need materia anymore! He's got a wife, a weapon shop, and a cozy little house. He's happy with what he's got. Why don't you just hand that crappy old materia over to me, hmmm?"  
  
Cloud rolled his brilliant blue, mako-infused eyes. "Don't pay any attention to her, Vincent. She's materia-dependant."  
  
Yuffie grinned and stuck her nose high in the air. "I can quit anytime I want!"  
  
Since then, the young ninja had hung onto Vincent like a leech, evidently no longer bothered by his intimidating appearance. She had even gone far enough to play a practical joke on him. Materia was enough to bridge the gap with anyone.  
  
But Vincent still recalled her frightened face when she felt his metal claw on her skin.  
  
  
  
"Four bowls of shrimp curry, with extra sauce on one, please," said Cloud. The waiter behind the desk at the takeout restaurant nodded and scurried off to inform the cook. The blonde, spiky-haired man edged closer to the radiator and unconsciously pulled his overcoat tighter around him.   
  
He mentally smacked himself on the head when he realized he had forgotten to ask for an order of yakisoba. He remembered that it was Vincent's favorite dish, and he always found it more than amusing watching the calm, stoic man try to slurp the noodles out of the bowl. He was surprised that his dark companion had stayed almost four days at their house. He usually shunned the company of others. Maybe it was because Yuffie was...  
  
He shook his head as the waiter rang the desk bell. "Four shrimp curry!" she proclaimed, as if the whole Planet had a right to know.  
  
"Wow, that was fast," said Cloud. "Actually, could I have an order of yakisoba, too?"  
  
She nodded. "Oh, for boy out back? He love yakisoba. Only thing I get him to eat."  
  
"Boy? What boy?" he asked, baffled.  
  
"Boy behind restaurant," she said slowly, as though Cloud must be daft. "Very sad. He maybe has a few screws loose. ONE YAKISOBA!!" she blared.  
  
Wincing, Cloud looked out the back door, which had been carelessly left open despite the biting cold. A small, defeated figure dressed in rags sat huddled next to a dumpster. Though the downfall of snow obscured his usually sharp vision, the young man outside looked disturbingly familiar.  
  
He continued staring until the waitress brought out a covered Styrofoam bowl. "Here," she said cheerfully, setting it on top of the curry. "Eight gil please, have a nice day!"  
  
Cloud absently fished the correct money out of his wallet and took the food. He walked out the back door toward the shivering boy. The closer he got to him, the more convinced he was that he had known him from somewhere. Even though he was sitting down, Cloud could tell he wasn't very tall, and he had blonde hair that was frozen against his head. Not until he got close enough to see the young man's ocean blue eyes did he fully realize why he looked so familiar.  
  
"Rufus," he breathed.  
  
The boy looked up at him, bewildered. "Why... w-why does everyone keep calling me that? Who are you?"  
  
*What the...?* Cloud thought. *Why wouldn't I be calling him that? Why is he even alive, for that matter?! And why doesn't he recognize me? He has to know who I am! Unless he can't remember...*  
  
"My name is Cloud Strife," he said, cautiously moving toward Rufus, who grew more suspicious. "We used to know each other... a few years ago. Don't you remember?"  
  
He narrowed his eyes. "No... But why did you call me Rufus? That's not my name." He encircled his dangerously thin arms around his knees and hung his head.  
  
Cloud decided to try a different tactic. "Then tell me, what *is* your name?"  
  
"I... I don't know." His fragile voice was barely above a whisper.  
  
Cloud took a risk and sat down beside him, still holding the packages of food. The boy did not stir. "Do you remember anything?"  
  
Rufus sighed, shaking his head. "Not really. Just... fragments."  
  
*This is frickin' unbelievable! Not only is President Rufus Shin-ra still alive, he has amnesia!*  
  
"I want to help you, kid," he said gently. "I don't know how I can, but I'm going to try. Will you come with me?" When he did not answer, he insisted, "Please. You don't have anywhere else to go, right?"  
  
He looked at the older man warily. But maybe he saw something in Cloud's eyes that convinced him he meant what he said. "A-all right," he said softly and stood up. Cloud got to his feet as well, and concealed a smile of wonder as he made his way back to his house in Sector 6, the boy shuffling along after him.  
  
*Who would have thought I would be showing kindness to the head of Shin-ra, Inc.,* he thought in amazement. *What's even scarier is that I actually DO want to help him.*  
  
White cottony snow drifted down to cover the shabby streets of Midgar as the once-despised Rufus Shin-ra followed the Planet's greatest hero Cloud Strife off into the frosty winter night.  



	3. Chapter Two

Chapter 2  
  
  
  
"Do you have any two's?"  
  
"Yuffie, I don't understand why we have to play this--"  
  
"Do you have any *two's*?!?"  
  
"...Go fish."  
  
The young ninja grinned and took a card from the deck as they sat on the floor facing each other. "Was that so hard?"  
  
Vincent rolled his garnet eyes, which caught the light from the roaring fire like luminous jewels. "All right, then. Do you have any sixes?"  
  
"Weeeell, let's see. I'll have to think about that." She fanned through her cards, and a mischievous smile spread across her youthful face as she looked up at him. "No, I'm sorry, Vinnie. I've never had six before!!"  
  
At this Yuffie began cracking up, slapping her hand against her knee. Vincent sighed heavily and waited for her to compose herself. Watching her laugh mirthfully, she appeared to the older man the embodiment of innocent, childlike joy. He vaguely remembered once having that.  
  
Finally she took a deep breath and stared at him. "Oh, come on, Vinnie, you know that was funny."  
  
He averted his gaze, but Yuffie thought she detected something like amusement flicker in those ruby orbs, if only briefly.  
  
"Oh... wait... What was that?" she said, edging closer to him. "Was that... Did I just see the beginning of a smile?"  
  
"I don't smile, Yuffie."  
  
"Ohhh, I bet I can make you smile, Vinnie!" With that, she reached up and tickled his sides mercilessly. Much to her surprise, she discovered that Vincent was *extremely* ticklish, and she shrieked as he fell onto his back, pulling her with him to the carpet.  
  
She looked up at him in mock irritation. "Gawd, if I had known you were so ticklish..." She trailed off when her eyes fell upon the man's face.  
  
Vincent Valentine was smiling with the warm and radiant force of a genuine smile. It was the kind of unrestrained smile that crinkled his garnet eyes and lit up his normally cold, dark face.  
  
Yuffie gaped at him in amazement. Who knew that just one change of facial expression could make him look so warm, so friendly... so handsome! "Vincent," she breathed, unable to take her eyes off him. "Why in God's name don't you smile more often?"  
  
Then just like that, it was gone. His dazzling smile faded, and he was once again the same cold, stoic man who had once intimidated her. But after seeing him like that, even if it was only for a few seconds, she would never be afraid of Vincent Valentine again. The person he was inside radiated from that one smile.  
  
Suddenly the front door flew open. Yuffie jumped away, and Vincent sat up straight as Cloud came inside, brushing snow off packages of takeout.  
  
"Good Lord, it's freezing," he said, his teeth chattering. "Where's Tifa?"  
  
"She's setting the table in the dining room," replied Yuffie.  
  
"Well, tell her to set another place." He pulled a blanket out of the closet by the door.  
  
Vincent's brow creased. "Why?"  
  
Cloud took a breath. "Guys, I have someone you need to meet." Vincent and Yuffie looked at each other, and Cloud motioned to someone on the porch to come inside. The two gasped as Rufus Shin-ra stepped into the foyer shyly and waved to them.  
  
"Oh, my Gawd!" exclaimed Yuffie. "You're--"  
  
Vincent lifted his claw to silence her and noticed Rufus staring at the metal appendage uneasily. "Something is obviously wrong," he said quietly.  
  
Cloud leaned in close to them. "Vincent's right, Yuffie. He has amnesia, so don't mention anything objectionable that he might have done. Anyway," he said cheerfully. "I'll help Tifa while you three get... acquainted."  
  
After he left, the frail young man fingered the blanket Cloud had given him nervously.  
  
"Uh, oh yeah!" said Yuffie, smiling amicably. "I'm Yuffie Kisaragi, and this is my friend Vincent Valentine. Don't worry, he doesn't bite."  
  
The gunslinger ignored this comment and bowed slightly. "Pleased to... meet you."  
  
"He likes to be called Vinnie," added Yuffie, grinning.  
  
"She's lying," he retorted, though he restrained another smile. Yuffie wished with all her heart he hadn't.  
  
The slender boy smiled innocently, and Yuffie had to wonder what had happened to him. He used to be such a stuck-up brat! But now he was shy, sweet, and confused. He had once been strong, proud, and very attractive. Now he was extremely underfed, with bony limbs, gaunt cheekbones, and dark circles under his beautiful blue eyes. It must have been quite a while since the last time he ate. Overall, a very obvious and inexplicable change had taken place. Why didn't he remember anything?  
  
She saw Rufus shiver, and Yuffie blinked. "Oh, you must be so cold! Come with me and warm up by the fireplace." She held out her hand, and he reluctantly placed his frail one in hers as they sat down by the cozy, inviting fire.  
  
"Cloud tells me my name is Rufus," he said, speaking for the first time since he arrived. His voice was soft and sweet. "I don't really like that name, but that's what it is, right?"  
  
"That's right," said Vincent, for some reason staring at Rufus and Yuffie's intertwined fingers. "You were the son of the late president of a powerful energy company called Shin-ra, Inc." He didn't bother to mention that the young man should have been killed by an explosion at Shin-ra headquarters.  
  
Rufus frowned. "The 'late' president? You mean, he's dead?" He looked down at the floor. "I don't even remember my father, and now I find out he's dead."  
  
"Don't worry," added Vincent quickly. "He was never much of a father to begin with."  
  
"I... I don't know why I don't remember anything," the boy whispered forlornly, and Yuffie squeezed his hand. He looked up at her and blushed.  
  
"We'll help you in any way we can," she said earnestly, looking straight into his ocean blue eyes. There was something so special about him; she could already tell. Even though he had done such horrible things in the past, even though he was three years older than her, he was now so cute and naive, that she just had to help him.  
  
  
  
"So, Yuffie, dare I ask what you did today?" asked Cloud, his mouth full of shrimp.  
  
"Let's see," she replied, fishing through her curry with her chopsticks. "Oh! I hid in the loft of the chocobo stable, and when Vincent came in, I cracked an egg on his head."  
  
At this the spiky-haired man burst out laughing, spraying shrimp everywhere. As Tifa, Vincent, and Rufus shielded their faces, the materia hunter continued.  
  
"And then Tifa braided my hair," she said, recalling her day, "And then Vincent and I played Go Fish after he got out of the shower..." Her face turned red, and she cleared her throat. "Oh yeah! I got Vincent to smile!!"  
  
Tifa's auburn eyes widened. "What!? And I wasn't there to see it? Dang it!" She kicked the table leg. "What did he look like?"  
  
Yuffie breathed in exaggerated indulgence. "Ohhh, just gorgeous!!"  
  
"If only I had been there," said Tifa, sighing.  
  
Vincent was clearly uncomfortable with this conversation.  
  
Rufus looked up from his bowl of yakisoba, which Vincent had generously given to him. "What?" he said, slurping the noodles noisily. "He never smiles or something?"  
  
"That would be an understatement," replied Cloud, visibly annoyed. "Now are we all done drooling over Mr. Valentine, ladies?"  
  
"Almost," said Yuffie cheerfully. "Anyway, he looked so *different* from what he usually looks like! I just wish he'd smile more often, because he has such a sweet smile."  
  
"I'll ignore the fact that you're all talking about me as though I'm not in the room," said Vincent, standing up. "May I take your dishes, Rufus?"  
  
The young man looked down at his bowl and realized he had consumed his dinner. "Oh, okay, thank you."  
  
The tall, dark man carried the dishes out of the dining room, but not before turning around to unleash another dazzling smile. The sound of chopsticks hitting china reverbated off the walls.  
  
  
  
"Ohhh, my God, Yuffie," said Tifa dreamily as the two young women washed the dishes. "You were so right! Vincent could be a freakin' model for the Costa del Sol calendar if he smiled like that all the time."  
  
"Ugh, I know," replied Yuffie. "It's such a shame he wastes his good looks." She propped her elbows against the counter. "You know, I used to be kind of afraid of him. And I know that's not unreasonable, because he used to be a Turk. But after seeing him smile, I just can't be intimidated by him! He shows who he really is whenever he smiles."  
  
"Huh. ...Oh, I get it!" Tifa exclaimed, grinning slyly at the teenager. "Getting the hots for our dear 'Vinnie', eh?"  
  
"I don't have a crush on Vincent!" she shouted, perhaps a little too loudly. "Besides," she added, remembering to lower her voice, "isn't he still, you know. In love with that one girl? Lucrecia?"  
  
Before the young woman could answer, Cloud came into the kitchen. "Excuse me girls, the no-longer-wanted husband needs to get a beer to ease the pain of rejection."  
  
"Aww, sweetie!" Tifa laughed and wrapped her arms around him. "I still love you more than I love anything else, even cheesecake."  
  
Cloud smiled and kissed her forehead. "All right. It's good to know you hold me in such high esteem."  
  
"I uh, think I'll leave before it gets too graphic for a minor like me," said Yuffie, walking out of the kitchen. She yawned and sat down beside Rufus on the couch. "Hey, Rufus, oh pal o' mine."  
  
He grinned charmingly. "Hi, Yuffie."  
  
*What a sweetheart!* she thought, smiling at him. *If he wasn't so scrawny, he'd be really cute.*  
  
She looked around the living room. "Where's Vincent?"  
  
"He went upstairs to get his blankets. He said I can have the guest room, and he'll sleep on the couch."  
  
Yuffie smiled thoughtfully. "He is so nice when he wants to be."  
  
Rufus thought he heard something in her voice, and he sighed. Yuffie turned to look at him.  
  
"What?"  
  
"...Nothing."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nothing!"  
  
She laughed. "Yeah, right, it's nothing. I'll let you go for now, I guess. Do you have a toothbrush?"  
  
The frail young man looked blank.  
  
"What am I thinking?" she instantly asked herself aloud. "You've been on the streets this whole time. Of course you don't have a toothbrush." She shrugged. "I have an extra one in my dresser. I'll go get it, 'kay?" She patted him on the knee and jumped out of the couch.  
  
Rufus nodded, and she started to climb the stairs. "Yuffie?"  
  
She stopped. "Yeah?"  
  
He smiled shyly. "Thanks."  
  
"No prob!" She stumbled the rest of the way up the stairs and sprinted to her room. After she dug through her disorderly drawers and pulled out a green toothbrush, she ran back down the hall, where she stopped when her eyes fell upon Vincent, who was laying blankets over the guest bed.  
  
"Need help, Vinnie?" she asked, walking into the room.  
  
He looked up at her. "No thank you," he said shortly, but not before glancing briefly at the object in her hand. "What's that?"  
  
After a while she realized what he was talking about. "Oh! It's just a toothbrush. Rufus doesn't have one."  
  
He nodded coolly and continued spreading the blankets. Yuffie looked at him awkwardly. He seemed rather pensive, like he had been thinking about something before she had come into the room. She was about to ask him what it was when he asked, "You've certainly taken a liking to the boy, haven't you?"  
  
She blinked. Why did he care? "I guess so, yeah. He's really sweet, and he has nowhere else to go, so... I really want to help him."  
  
Suddenly Vincent looked up at her sharply. "Though that is very noble of you to want to help him," he said sternly, his face close to hers, "you mustn't forget that he is still Rufus Shin-ra. The same Rufus Shin-ra who was the head of Shin-ra, Inc., who kidnapped Aeris."  
  
"I know that," replied Yuffie defensively. "I haven't forgotten. But *he* doesn't know that, so there's no reason to resent him for something he doesn't even remember he did. That's not fair to him."  
  
He stared at her for a long time, until finally he gathered his blankets in his arms. "Fair or not, Yuffie, you had better know what you're getting into before you get too close to him." With that he brushed coldly past her out of the room.  
  
Yuffie sat down on the bed, not fully believing what had just happened. Why had Vincent been so harsh with her? Was he...? No! How could he be jealous? He never even liked her to begin with. He was much older than her, and probably thought what everyone else thought about her. She was an immature pest; a bothersome little mosquito that buzzed in his ears and made him want to tear her limb from limb.   
  
No, he wasn't jealous. He was too good to ever have feelings for her...  
  
"Yuffie?"  
  
The girl looked up in surprise, but then relaxed as she saw Rufus leaning against the doorframe. He was wearing borrowed pajamas from Cloud that were much too big for him, and the collar slid off his thin shoulder. He fumbled to pull it back up, and he yawned. "I'm tired."  
  
"Oh, okay." She stood up and smoothed over the place where she had been sitting. She remembered the toothbrush and put it in Rufus' hand. "Go brush your teeth first."  
  
"But I'm tiiired," he protested, his eyelids heavy.  
  
She laughed and rolled her eyes. She felt like his mother. Then she realized it had probably been a very long time since he slept in a warm, soft bed. "All right, you win." She waited until he crawled under the blankets, and switched off the light. "Good night, Rufus."  
  
"Wait, don't leave yet!"  
  
She stopped. "Umm, okay." She turned on the bedside lamp and sat down on the edge of the bed.  
  
He smiled up at her. "You're so nice, Yuffie."  
  
"Oh, thank you," she said, blushing. "You're the first person who's ever told me that."  
  
His eyes widened in surprise. "Really? How can that be? It's true." He looked down at his hands, which were fingering the edge of the bedspread restlessly. "I mean, Cloud and Tifa took me in, and Vincent is very generous. But you were friendly to me from the start. I don't think I've ever met anyone as nice as you."  
  
Her smile grew even wider, until at last she leaned down and hugged him tightly. He felt so fragile in her arms, and at that moment all she wanted to do was protect him. Finally she found enough self-restraint to let go. "And I think you're just the sweetest guy I've ever met, Rufus."  
  
He blushed, momentarily forgetting that he was so exhausted. He simply looked at the girl bashfully.  
  
She ruffled his unruly blonde hair and stood up. "Good night for real this time, Rufus."  
  
He smiled softly, trying to calm his heart. "Good night, Yuffie." 


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter 3  
  
  
  
Yuffie yawned as she staggered down the hall toward her own room. She stopped, however, when looking past the railing down at the living room, she saw Vincent asleep on the couch, his blankets still in a heap on the floor.  
  
Sighing, she shuffled back down the stairs into the living room. *He must have been too tired to untangle that mess of blankets,* she thought, smiling slightly. She bent down and began pulling the covers from each other. After she was done, she gathered a heavy quilt in her arms and laid it quietly over the sleeping man.  
  
She noticed his boots were still on, and she rolled her eyes. *Doesn't anyone know how to do anything themselves?* she thought wearily. She went around to the end of the couch and began to loosen the buckles of Vincent's metal-tipped boots. Unfortunately, he noticed this movement in his slumber. Without warning, his right foot came up, kicking Yuffie hard in the chin.  
  
"OWW, SON OF A--" she stumbled backward, rubbing her face in pain.   
  
Vincent woke in alarm and sat up straight. He spotted the young ninja holding her chin angrily. "Yuffie?" he said drowsily. "What's the matter?"  
  
"I'll tell you what's the matter, buddy," she replied, exasperated. "I was *trying* to be nice and take off your boots, since you oh-so-carelessly went to sleep without any concern for the furniture, and you kicked me in the face!"  
  
He swung his legs onto the floor and stood up, turning on the lamp. Walking up to the offended Yuffie, he lifted up his right hand and placed it gently on her chin. He leaned in close to her, inspecting the quickly-forming bruise.  
  
Yuffie felt her heart leap up into her throat. He had never been this close to her before, and she became fairly lightheaded as he moved his graceful fingers softly against her face. She detected some kind of fragrance, and she realized it was his cologne. *Vincent wears cologne?* she thought absently. *Since when? It smells good.* She found herself moving closer to him, breathing in his intoxicating aroma. She never thought being this close to him would feel so good...  
  
"Does this hurt?"  
  
The teenager blinked. "What?" It took her some time to realize her bruise still hurt. "Oh. Kind of," she lied, when in actuality it was quite painful. "Don't worry about it, Vincent. I know you didn't do it on purpose."  
  
He looked down at the floor, his long black lashes concealing the crimson glow of his eyes. "I know, but I apologize." His hand was still on her face. His gaze averted to the couch briefly, noticing the quilt on the floor. "Thank you for the thought, anyway."  
  
Yuffie stared at him, wishing he would smile again. No such luck. "You're welcome, Vinnie." She paused. "You don't like it when I call you Vinnie, huh?"  
  
He looked back at her, finally dropping his hand to his side. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Yuffie snapped her fingers. "I don't mind."  
  
As he sat down on the couch again, Yuffie felt sudden disappointment. "Because, it's not really like I'm teasing you," she added hastily, picking up the quilt and pulling it straight. "It's more like a term of endear... ment." She closed her eyes. *D'oh, I'm an idiot.* "Wait, that's not what I meant. I mean, it sort of was, but I guess--"  
  
Vincent held up a hand to silence the babbling girl. "Sit down, Yuffie."  
  
She stared at him in disbelief. Did he mean, next to him? Sure enough, he had slightly moved to the side to make room for her. Yuffie felt oddly privileged as she collapsed next to him, finally beginning to succumb to her exhaustion.  
  
Vincent bent down and finished unbuckling his boot. Yuffie felt herself smile as she watched him pull the shoe off to reveal a bare, white foot. *Aww, he has such cute toes!* she thought, then tried to figure out where that had come from. He eyed her strangely as he unbuckled and removed his other boot. Finally, exhaling, he propped his bare feet on the coffee table and closed his magnificent ruby eyes.  
  
After a few minutes of gazing at him, she figured he had fallen asleep. She started to stand up, but stopped as she felt his brass claw push her back down. He opened his eyes again and looked at her. "I'm sorry for being so stern with you upstairs," he said quietly.  
  
She smiled and shrugged. "That's okay."  
  
"I only felt I should warn you," he continued solemnly, "because I realized you had feelings for Rufus, and I didn't want... to see you get hurt."  
  
"What? No!" she exclaimed, laughing. "I don't have feelings for Rufus." Or did she? Unfazed, she said, "He just needs a friend, so I want to be one for him."  
  
Vincent gazed at her thoughtfully, some undetectable emotion in his eyes that she'd never before seen. "You're a very caring person, Yuffie Kisaragi."  
  
Her eyes widened. Two compliments from two adorable men in just one night? Man, she was good! "Thanks," she said, blushing deeply.  
  
He continued staring at her, that uncharacteristic softness in his eyes. She could feel her heart going a kajillion miles per hour. *Why is he looking at me like that?* she thought wildly. *Oh, man. Oh, man. He is so freakin' hot. Oh, man. Why is he look--*  
  
The rantings in her mind stopped when she noticed him shiver slightly. "Oh, hey!" she blurted, springing up to retrieve the quilt. "No wonder you're cold. You don't have any blankets." She wagged a finger at him jokingly. "What am I going to do with you, ya helpless little tyke?"  
  
She motioned for him to lie down on the couch. Feeling foolish, he stood up and attempted to take the quilt from her. "Yuffie, please, I can--"  
  
"Don't argue with me, Sonny," she said, yanking on the other end. "I've been around long enough to know you can't do anything by yourself."  
  
Something akin to mischief actually appeared in Vincent's eyes. "I'll teach you not to call me 'Sonny', *young lady*." He pulled hard on the blanket.  
  
"Hey, don't call me 'Young Lady'!" she retorted, laughing. "I'm almost eighteen-- Whoa!"   
  
Vincent pulled, evidently too hard, for he set the young ninja off balance, causing her to fall backward. However, in the process, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him to the carpet with her. Unable to stop laughing, she pounded her fists against his hard chest as they lay side by side on the floor.   
  
"Eee, how dare you knock me over, you big oaf!" she said in protest. Instead, Vincent grabbed her arms and forced her to stop hitting him. She struggled to break free, but stopped moving altogether when she saw him smile again, warm and gentle.  
  
*Ohhh yeah, that's the stuff,* she thought, instantly overpowered by his handsome face.  
  
He continued to smile as he took her hands gently in his. Yuffie felt the cold metal of his claw against her skin, but she didn't care. Of all unpredictable events, she was laying on the floor with Vincent Valentine, who was holding her hands. Talk about unexpected.  
  
Vincent released one of her hands to grasp her waist and pull them both to a sitting position. His claw still resting on the small of her back, he lifted his other hand and caressed her cheek softly.  
  
Yuffie discovered she had been holding her breath the entire time. She released it, whispering a breathless "Vincent..." as she exhaled. He lifted her chin up with his reluctant fingers and lowered his head close to hers. His eyes began to close, and as he tilted his face slightly, it finally hit Yuffie. *Oh my God, he's going to kiss me.*  
  
She gasped.  
  
Just as their lips brushed, Vincent reacted to her gasp and jerked away, releasing her hastily. "Forgive me," he whispered, standing up.  
  
She blinked in disbelief. Could this day get any more confusing? "But, Vincent--"  
  
"I'm terribly sorry," he said, avoiding her gaze. "I think you should go to bed now, Yuffie."  
  
Tears suddenly sprang to her eyes. She blinked them back furiously. "I..."  
  
Falling silent, Vincent closed his eyes in shame.  
  
Yuffie hung her head and retreated silently up the stairs to her room. Once inside, she kicked the door closed and fell onto her back on the bed. No longer able to fight her tears, she sobbed into her pillow, rivers streaming down her cheeks.  
  
*Why am I even feeling this way?* she thought miserably. *I never even thought twice about Vincent before! Why now? Why do I have to start now?*  
  
She sniffed, and slowly her hand came up to rest on her lips. "Vincent... Why did you do that?" she whispered through her tears. "You must be crazy... But I'm crazier than you."  
  
  
  
Vincent leaned against the wall, his head in his hands. What in God's name had possessed him to do such a thing? The girl was so much younger than him; technically forty-one years younger than him, though he was physically twenty-seven. She had such a bright future ahead of him. Wasting it on him was just foolishness. She deserved better.  
  
But when Vincent was with her, when she laughed or told a cheesy joke, he was reminded of the Vincent Valentine he used to be. Full of hopes and dreams, the person he was before Professor Hojo had snatched his future away from him. And Yuffie was slowly bringing the old-- or young-- Vincent back.  
  
She reminded him *so* much of Lucrecia. So much it hurt. She possessed the same lightheartedness, the same concern for others as his once-beloved. He hated to see such innocence taken away. Not again.  
  
Yuffie was good; Vincent was evil. He could see now that they were on opposite sides of the coin. He was guilty of far more sins than he could count, and she didn't deserve to be tainted by his impurities. And he had to make sure that it would stay an impossibility.  
  
After writing a heartfelt note on the coffee table, he shouldered his bag and opened the front door. The howling wind and blinding snow awaited him. Stepping into the blizzard, he turned back once. "Goodbye, Yuffie," he whispered, soft but determined. "Take care of Rufus. You need him far more than you need me."  
  
And he closed the door.  
  
  
  
Cloud yawned as the alarm clock by his side of the bed began to buzz. "Oh, God, already?" He swung his tired legs onto the floor and stood up reluctantly.  
  
Tifa rolled over to blink at him sleepily. "Want me to make breakfast for you, babe?"  
  
"No, that's okay," he replied, yanking off his sweatpants. "I'm sure I can find something microwavable in the back of the freezer." He walked over to his dresser in his boxers and pulled out a pair of jeans. As he hopped on one leg to shove his foot through the pant leg, he asked, "Hey, Teef, did you hear something last night?"  
  
"Nuh-uh," she replied, deciding to get up and at *least* make her husband coffee. "Nothing could have woken me up."  
  
He smirked. "Yeah, I figured. You were snoring like it was going out of style." He ducked as a slipper came flying toward his head, and he shrugged. "I guess it was just me."  
  
After Tifa had put on a light blue robe, she followed Cloud out of the room. As he staggered into the living room, she went into the kitchen to turn on the coffee maker. Suddenly she heard him shout for her.  
  
"Tifa, come here, quick!"  
  
She hurried, confused, to the living room, where Cloud was standing by the coffee table with a note. After noticing Vincent was gone, her eyes widened as she put a hand to her mouth.  
  
"I think you should read this," he said solemnly.  
  
She took the paper with trembling fingers and forced herself to read:  
  
  
--Dear Cloud, Tifa, Rufus, and Yuffie,  
  
I thank you all for your hospitality, but I realize I am not the most wholesome influence on you all, and I must leave before I stain you with my already bloody hands. Though it pains me to leave, you would have been better off never having met me. I doubt I will ever see you again, so I suppose this is goodbye.  
  
Cloud, you are a true hero. Despite your less than ideal life, you have managed to remain upright. This is highly commendable, and you deserve your wife more than anyone else on this Planet.  
  
Tifa, your love for others is remarkable to say the least. The genuine consideration in your smile alone proves it. I hope you stay just as sweet as you are now. And please do not worry about happens to me. You would only be wasting your concern.  
  
Rufus, though you have been on the Planet for twenty years, you have only just begun to realize that you have your whole life ahead of you. Take good care of Yuffie; she is the greatest friend you could possibly need.  
  
And Yuffie. I am terribly sorry if I hurt you; I certainly never meant to cause you any harm. You must understand that I left out of concern for your welfare. In time you will realize that you deserve much better than the likes of me.  
  
I am beyond grateful for your companionship, my friends. You have my word that I will think of you every day.  
  
All My Love,  
Vincent Valentine--  
  
  
Tifa had already begun to cry halfway through the first paragraph. Cloud put a consoling arm around her shoulder, and she started crying harder. "Oh, God, Cloud," she said in between sobs, "Why did he wait until *now* to say all this?"  
  
"I don't know," he replied miserably. "Something must have happened..." He recalled the part in the letter Vincent had devoted to Yuffie. What had he meant by not meaning to hurt her? Or that she deserved better than him?  
  
Rufus came down the stairs sleepily. "What's going on? What-- Why is Tifa crying?" He ran up to her in concern. "What's wrong, Tifa? Where's Vincent?"  
  
Then he noticed the letter. He took it from her shaking hands and began to read it. His blue eyes grew wide as they darted back and forth down the page. "He-- he's gone?"  
  
Cloud nodded, silent.  
  
"Wh-why...?" Rufus read the letter over again. "He... He hurt Yuffie!" he exclaimed angrily. "What did he do to her?"  
  
"We don't know," said Tifa, drying her eyes. "But I should probably go up and tell her." She trudged past them with the letter and climbed the stairs to Yuffie's room. Cloud and Rufus heard her knock on the door faintly. "Yuffie? I have something to tell you..."  
  
They heard the door close again, and the two young men looked at each other until suddenly they heard loud and anguished sobs explode from Yuffie's bedroom.  
  
"Yuffie!" cried Rufus, but Cloud seized the boy's shoulder to stop him and shook his head. Yuffie's heartbroken cries continued to pierce the cold, white morning.  
  
  
  



	5. Chapter Four

Chapter 4  
  
  
  
"Yuffie, please, come outside with me," Rufus pleaded, sitting down beside the girl on her bed. "You've been cooped up in this house for way too long, and you'd really like the flowers."  
  
Yuffie looked up at him blankly. "I've seen plenty of flowers before. Why would I care now?"  
  
"Well, it's just, they're the first flowers of spring," he stammered. Why didn't anything work? He had been trying everything he could think of for four months to cheer Yuffie up, but everything bounced off her like she was surrounded by some invisible forcefield. He sighed. "I just thought you'd want to come do something fun with me."  
  
"Boy, were you ever wrong," she replied without a trace of emotion in her voice.  
  
"Oh, God, Yuffie," he said miserably, blinking back sudden tears. "I hate to see you like this! What happened to the girl who was so nice to me the night I came here, the girl who held my hand and said she wanted to help me? What happened to her?"  
  
She closed her eyes as though she were in pain. "Vincent took her with him," she whispered.  
  
"You know, you're full of crap!" Rufus suddenly stood up angrily. "If that heartless, sorry excuse for a man had really cared about you, he would have stayed! I didn't know much about him, but I knew enough to realize you deserve better than him, someone who will treat you the way you *do* deserve, the way *I* treat you!"  
  
Yuffie blinked at him in surprise. Instantly he regretted his harsh words and collapsed back onto the bed. "I'm sorry, Yuffie," he said softly, looking down at the floor. "I'm just... worried about you."  
  
Suddenly he felt a hand on his knee. He looked up to see Yuffie smiling slightly at him. "I think I would like to see those flowers now."  
  
  
  
"It's so strange," said Rufus thoughtfully, twirling a bright yellow flower between his thumb and index finger.  
  
Yuffie looked up from the daisy chain she was making. "What is, Rufie?"  
  
"Even though I'm already twenty-one, I've never had a childhood. I mean, I did, but I don't remember it. I have no memory of even *this*," he said, holding the flower close to his gaunt face. Though he had been living with Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie for four months, he was still underweight, and his clothes hung loosely from his fragile body. He sighed. "No memory of sitting in the grass, looking at flowers. From what you, Cloud, and Teef have told me about my life, I probably never did."  
  
"Do you remember anything?" asked Yuffie, linking another daisy into her string.  
  
Rufus hesitated, then nodded once. "Still just fragments of things. Some guy handing me blueprints or something in a folder. I remember riding in a black helicopter. But the one thing I remember the clearest is when I was, like... seven. Really little."  
  
Yuffie silently tied the ends of her chain and waited patiently for him to continue.  
  
He closed his gentle azure eyes. "I'm standing in this hallway, and there's something broken on the floor. I think it's a lamp. I must have broken it, because some lady who I can tell is the maid is yelling at me. Then this fat guy comes walking up to me, and all I can feel is raw fear. Even though I don't remember my father, just this one feeling of terror tells me it's him.  
  
"So he walks up to me, looks down at the lamp, looks back at me, then slaps me clear across the face. He grabs me by the shirt collar and slams me against the wall, knocking down a picture frame, but I don't think he cares. His hands are so huge and callused. He leans in close to me, and I can feel his hot breath on me. He says, 'Boy, you're nothing but a disappointment, you know that? I would sooner give the company to my dog than you.'" He shook his head of silky blonde hair and opened his eyes. "Then he lets me go and walks away. The maid picks me up and tries to calm me, because I'm crying this whole time."  
  
"Rufus," she whispered softly. She entwined his thin arm in both of hers and leaned against him. Her chocolate strands of hair brushed against his neck, and she felt him shiver slightly. "I'm so sorry."  
  
He blushed. "It's no big deal, really. I was just a stupid kid then. Of course, I'm not much better now. I feel like I'm still a child sometimes, because I don't even remember what it's like to be one."  
  
"Well, then, that settles it!" exclaimed Yuffie, grinning. She picked up her wreath of daisies and placed it on his head. "Who says your childhood has to be lost just because you don't remember it? You can start now!"  
  
He laughed, his voice pure and sweet. "You are so weird, Yuffers." He solemnly readjusted the wreath, then wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "So how have you been dealing with everything? I mean, about... you know."  
  
She sighed and leaned closer into him. "I'm doing better. A *lot* better than I was at first. I was depressed, hurt, angry... practically everything at once. I..." She hesitated, then rested her head on his bony shoulder. "I just wish I knew why Vincent left, you know? He said it was for my own good, but I don't know if I can believe that. How could it be any better than it was when he was here?"  
  
Rufus closed his eyes to fight the tears that threatened to trickle forth at her words of fondness. Why did she have to have feelings for someone who probably never reciprocated them? "Do you--" He faltered, then tried again. "Do you love Vincent?"  
  
She looked up at him in surprise. She was silent for a long time, then she finally said simply, "I don't know."  
  
  
  
"Well, I'm glad *someone* got Yuffie to come out of her depression," said Cloud in relief, looking out the window at his two friends.  
  
Tifa came up beside him and squeezed his hand. "I was so worried about her."  
  
"Yeah, me too." He paused. "Hey, Teef, do you remember what Yuffie was like when she first came to live with us?"  
  
She laughed and rolled her eyes. "How could I forget? She was a stubborn, selfish little brat. But I can't really blame her, because I used to be a brat, too. We've both changed a lot."  
  
"So has Rufus, for that matter; probably more than anyone." He pointed to the kind-hearted young man that Cloud still thought of as a boy. He was laughing at a cheesy joke Yuffie had told. "We've all changed, Tifa. And I *thought* Vincent had changed," he added bitterly, "But I guess not."  
  
"Cloud, don't even start--"  
  
"What could he have possibly been thinking?" he asked angrily, wild blonde locks flying as he turned toward his wife. "Whatever he said or did to Yuffie couldn't have hurt her more than leaving did! How could he have the nerve to do that to her, or to any of us?"  
  
"Getting angry won't change anything, Cloud," replied Tifa sternly. "We both know you miss him."  
  
He looked at her for a while with his luminous blue eyes, then sighed. "Yeah, I do, and that's what bugs me the most."  
  
Tifa looked back out the window and shook her head sadly. "Poor Rufus."  
  
"What?" asked Cloud, bewildered. "Why Rufus?"  
  
"Oh, come on, Cloud," she said. "You must see the way he looks at Yuffie, and how pained he is whenever she talks about Vincent. He's fallen for her big time, and he hit the ground the second he saw her."  
  
Cloud blinked, still astonished. "Are you sure?"  
  
She nodded. "Trust me. If you don't believe me, just watch him the next time Yuffie brings up Vincent. You'll see."  
  
  
  
"No, Rufus, let me down!" exclaimed Yuffie as the two companions raced down the path to Sector 5 on her chocobo, Hibiscus. "I changed my mind!"  
  
He shook his head. "You said you wanted to go to lunch with me, and you're not taking back your word."  
  
"But you're Rufus Shin-ra!" she insisted. "People will recognize you, and believe me, there aren't that many people who are fond of you!"  
  
"I'm not that familiar with Midgar, Yuffie. Do you know many good places to eat in Sector 5?" He kicked the chocobo lightly to speed it up.  
  
"You're not listeniiing!" Her arms instinctively shot around Rufus' waist as the bird sprinted down the road at Mach 7.   
  
Rufus blushed as her grip tightened on his stomach. "I, uh," he began, his voice cracking, "I feel like having clam chowder. How about you?"  
  
She groaned in defeat as they neared the gate to Sector 5. Once they arrived, they hopped off the chocobo and Rufus tethered it to a post. Yuffie suddenly put a hand on her chest and stumbled once, letting out a loud cough.  
  
Rufus' eyes widened. "Are you okay, Yuff?"  
  
She nodded as he put his hands on her shoulders to steady her. "Yeah, I think so." When he looked at her doubtfully, she forced a smile. "Don't worry, Rufie. It's all good!"  
  
The two walked through the streets, trying to find a place to eat. Finally they found a small but promising diner near the takeout restaurant where Cloud had first found Rufus. The waitress sat them down at a booth near the back, and they browsed the menu as they waited for her to come back and take their orders. All of a sudden a raucous voice pierced their concentration.  
  
"Rude, tell me if I'm seein' things!!!"  
  
Their heads turned in unison to see a trio in blue suits walking up to them. There was a blonde woman with chocolate eyes, a tall bald man with sunglasses and a goatee, and a scruffy young man with wild red hair. A neat scar adorned each of his cheeks. All three of them wore dumbfounded expressions.  
  
"Weeell, if it isn't the Turks?" said Yuffie, shaking her head. "Haven't seen you guys since we kicked your butts in the sewer."  
  
The man with the head of fire stuck his tongue out at the ninja. "Shaddup, kid, that's not important. What in the name of Ifrit are you doing here with *Rufus Shin-ra*?!"  
  
"Wait a minute," said Rufus, confused. "Who are you all?"  
  
The blonde woman blinked. "What do you mean, Mr. President? You know us!"  
  
"No, I don't," he replied, shaking his head. "Yuffie, what's going on?"  
  
She opened her mouth to reply, but the tall bald man the redhead called Rude said, "Are you telling us you don't remember us?"  
  
"Okay, hold the friggin' phone for just a minute, people," said the redhead irritably. "Let me get this straight. Rufus Shin-ra, who is *supposed* to be crowfeed after the explosion at Shin-ra Headquarters, is having lunch, all buddy-buddy with Yuffie Kisaragi, a member of AVALANCHE, and he doesn't remember his own bodyguards! Is that it?"  
  
"Reno," the blonde began.  
  
"No, wait, Elena," said Reno, rubbing his temples with his fingers. "That's what's going on, isn't it?"  
  
Yuffie sighed. "Yes, that's pretty much it, Reno. He doesn't remember anything. Cloud found him nearly frozen to death last winter and took him home."  
  
"Do you believe her?" asked Elena doubtfully.  
  
Rude nodded silently.  
  
"Well, isn't this just a lovely little surprise?" said Reno, sitting down next to Yuffie, who scooted over distastefully to make room. Reno's sea green eyes rolled in frustration. "Are you absolutely *sure* you don't remember us, Mr. President? Reno, Rude, and Elena?"  
  
The blonde young man shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. And please don't call me that. It's just Rufus."  
  
Yuffie suddenly lurched forward, coughing violently. Rufus jumped up from his seat and ran to her side. "Yuffie!"  
  
"What the--" said Reno, leaning back as Rufus climbed over him to reach Yuffie. She was clutching her chest in pain, trying to fight the coughing fit. "What's wrong with her?"  
  
"I don't know!" the boy exclaimed miserably. Yuffie suddenly stopped coughing and abrubtly lost consciousness. "Oh, God! Yuffie, wake up!!" He put a hand to her neck, to feel her pulse. It was weak but steady, and her skin was burning and feverish.  
  
Elena and Rude looked at each other in shock.  
  
"Wh- what are you going to do?" sputtered Reno, suddenly unable to cope with the situation.  
  
"You mean, what are *we* going to do?" said Rufus, rephrasing the Turk's question. "Help me lift her. We're going to take her back to the house."  
  
"B-but I, I don't--"  
  
"Please!" he cried, tears in his eyes. "You don't know how much she means to me!"  
  
Reno's heart was beating frantically. Why did all this crap always have to happen at once? "Okay, okay. I'll get her legs, Mr. Pr... Rufus." 


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter 5   
  
  
  
"No, wait!! Please, mister, don't kill me!" cried the clerk from behind the counter. He hid his face from behind a shield of hands, and the other loyal patrons of the grocery store in Nibelheim looked up in surprise.   
  
Pulling a black leather wallet out of his pocket, a very irritated Vincent Valentine shook his head, his lustrous black hair falling over his eyes, as if sympathizing with his inky mood. "I am afraid you misunderstood," he said coolly, raising the wallet for all to see. "I was merely extracting my wallet to pay for the groceries." Lord, he was getting tired of the way people cowered in front of him like terrorized mice under the watchful eye of a barn owl. But the only people who hadn't been intimidated by him were forever out of his life. "I have no weapon." *At least,* he thought wryly, *not in plain view.*   
  
The clerk's shoulders relaxed slightly, and he muttered an apology as he took the money from his customer's human hand. Vincent picked up the paper bag of food and walked out, trying to ignore the dozens of pairs of frightened eyes that were glued to his metallic arm.   
  
As he travelled solemnly up the path to the Shin-ra mansion, his mind unavoidably took a fabricated path of its own, journeying back to the last time he had been in Nibelheim. What he wouldn't give to be able to forget those days-- those *years*. But to forget his torture and grief would mean to forget Lucrecia, and that was something he could never bring himself to do.   
  
Continuing down "Memory Lane", he recalled the moment when a pair of Mako-blue eyes had brought him out of his self-condemning reverie. He had been loath to visitors, even though this Cloud Strife fellow had managed to break the code to the safe, defeat Lost Number, and find the locked dungeon that Professor Hojo had delighted in sealing him in. In truth, he really had wanted the young man to 'let him sleep'.   
  
But Cloud's strange connection with Lucrecia's son Sephiroth had intrigued him, until at last his curiosity claimed him, and he agreed to join the group. The youngest of the adventurers, a ninja by the name of Yuffie Kisaragi, had insisted that Vincent travel with her, which was quite surprising to the dark gunslinger; upon hearing the tear-jerking story of his past, the girl had let out a very emphasized "Boooring!"   
  
So Vincent was dragged along with her, at first finding her annoying beyond reason. Her endless chatter, her wisecracks about Vincent's appearance, and her constant whining when she experienced the slightest discomfort-- for instance, a rock in her shoe-- made him wonder why the schizophrenic young ninja had requested his company in the first place. Yet over time, her talkative personality became enjoyable; her sarcasm endearing. He supposed she enjoyed his companionship as well. If his health ever dropped below acceptable standards in battle, Yuffie was the first to put her Restore materia to use. Vincent soon grew to look forward to the end of each battle, when he was rewarded with a hard slap on the back from Yuffie for a job well done.   
  
He shook his head harshly, forcing himself out of his fond recollections. If he had wanted to pollute the girl with his noxious influence, he would have stayed. But that would have been unfair to both Yuffie *and* Rufus. He had been given a second chance to lead a wholesome life. Who was Vincent to take that away from him?   
  
He kicked the double doors of the mansion inward and went inside. He never bothered to lock it; who would be foolish enough to venture inside in the first place? Every man, woman, and child in Nibelheim knew that the mysterious visitor had taken up residence in the gloomy manor. They were all too intimidated by Vincent to go inside.   
  
After putting away the groceries he had purchased, he walked upstairs to one of the dilapidated bedrooms and threw off his boots. Ever since he had been imprisoned in that God-forsaken coffin in the mansion's underground dungeon, he had developed an incurable case of claustrophobia. He hated to admit he possessed phobias like any normal human, but he preferred a bedroom if given the choice.   
  
Vincent brushed his unruly hair out of his eyes and pulled a folded piece of paper out of the pocket in his black pants. He sat down on the moth-eaten bedspread and unfolded the paper, sighing to himself.   
  
It was a weather-beaten photograph of Vincent and the seven other saviors of the Planet. It had been taken in Junon, and he vividly remembered the smell of fish as Cid Highwind forced his friends to pose for the camera. Cait Sith expressed his severe discomfort, complaining that fishy odor would seep into the fur on his moogle.   
  
  
  
"Can't we go inside to take the picture, Cid?" he whined.   
  
But Barret Wallace just laughed boisterously and slapped the robotic cat on the back with his gun-arm, nearly knocking him off the stuffed animal. "A little seafood fragrance never hurt nobody, cat!"   
  
"We all need to take showers, anyway," said Tifa, trying to look on the positive side as usual.   
  
Aeris smiled mysteriously. "I don't care if I smell like a chocobo stable, as long as we find Sephiroth soon." They had all been confused by this remark, and now Vincent knew why the girl had been so adamant on finding him. He had to admit, he missed the poor, brave girl.   
  
"Yuffie, would you mind readjusting your foot?" asked Red XIII politely. "You are standing on my tail."   
  
The dark-haired girl blushed and moved her sneaker, allowing the lion-like creature to extract his tail. "Whoops! Sorry, Nanaki." She grinned. "But you know I wasn't hurting you. I can't be that heavy."   
  
Cid laughed from his place at the tripod. "That's fer #%$& sure, brat. You're so scrawny, if you were standing on a tonberry, the most you could do is tickle it."   
  
"Shut up, Cid!" she shouted angrily, raising her shuriken threateningly. "I'm sick of you calling me 'Brat' all the time! I have a name, you know!"   
  
"Sure you do," said Barret, stifling a chuckle. "It's Pest."   
  
Vincent flinched, waiting for the young ninja to explode. She never did. Surprised, he looked over at Yuffie. He was shocked to see her staring down at the ground, her lower lip trembling. A single tear fell down her cheek. Vincent Valentine was the sole witness of something none of the others had seen before: Yuffie Kisaragi was crying.   
  
"Yuffie," he said in an attempt to comfort her, "They are only joking with you."   
  
She sniffed. "Yeah, well, I'm tired of it, Vinnie. I don't even know why I'm with you guys, if all you do is insult me."   
  
"That's not true, Yuffie," he replied softly. He lifted her chin up with his human hand, forcing her to look up at him. "Have I ever insulted you?"   
  
She blinked, then slowly shook her head. "No, you never have, Vincent."   
  
"Then do not jump to conclusions," he said, resting his hand on her shoulder. "Though the others may tease you, we all really care about you."   
  
"Even you?" she asked, her slate gray eyes wide. Of course, just like everyone else, Yuffie found the notion that Vincent could actually have affections for someone quite hard to believe.   
  
He sighed. "Yes, Yuffie. Even me."   
  
"You're such a gentleman, Vinnie!" she said, grinning.   
  
"Hey, uh, could we hurry this up, Cid?" asked Cloud, looking up at the darkening sky. "It looks like it's gonna start raining pretty soon."   
  
"Greeeaat," moaned Cait Sith, shaking his head. "A *soaking wet* moogle that smells like fish."   
  
"All right, all right," Cid growled, looking into the camera. "Aeris, could you move your head to the left a little? No, my left. That's it, thanks. ^&$#, Vince, lower your head a bit! You're too tall to fit in the picture! Okay, there. Brat, stop starin' at Vincent and look at the camera!"   
  
"Bite me, Cid!"   
  
"Sorry, that's Vampire Boy's job," he said, smirking. "Yeah, yeah, you can stop glarin' at me like that, Vince. You're givin' me the creeps." He knelt down next to Red, holding the remote. "All right, everyone. Pretend you're not miserable!"   
  
The group smiled. Except for Vampire Boy.   
  
"1, 2, 3!" He pushed the button and the camera flashed. Everyone got up and stretched, groaning. The first of many raindrops began to fall from the bruised and swollen sky.   
  
"That only took 'bout a million years," said Barret irritably.   
  
"Hey Cid, don't put away the camera yet!"   
  
The scruffy pilot turned around to see Yuffie smiling amicably up at him. "What is it now, kid?"   
  
"Hey, 'Kid' instead of 'Brat' this time!" she said, trying not to let her anger show. "You're slowly improving! Anyway, I was wondering if you'd take a picture of me and my bestest buddy--"   
  
Everyone looked up, expecting her to say Aeris or Tifa.   
  
"--Vincent Valentine!"   
  
Surprised gasps issued from the group, and Vincent looked up sharply.   
  
"Riiight," said Cid, puffing on his cigarette. "Hurry up and get in front of the camera."   
  
"Come on, Vinnie!" she cried, dragging him by his claw into position. He stared at her, bewildered, as she grinned into the camera. "I don't expect you to smile, but try to look happy on the inside."   
  
"All right, 1, 2, 3," said Cid, pressing the button. The camera flashed once.   
  
  
  
Vincent looked up from the photograph in his hand to the frame resting on top of the fireplace mantle. It held a picture of himself and a teenaged materia hunter, who was smiling warmly. Her small, dainty hand was intertwined in Vincent's pale, callused one. Both were soaking wet from falling rain, and yet despite the cold, they both looked happy. One was just "happy on the inside".   
  
He stood up and lifted the frame from the mantle, looking at it closely. Yuffie looked so pleased that she had gotten her gloomy companion to pose with her. He sighed remorsefully, knowing that this meager photograph was the closest Vincent would ever get to seeing his young friend again.   
  
Suddenly his head began to ache terribly, and he almost dropped the picture. The inescapable presence in the back of his mind began to overpower him. The presence of a hideous, raging gargoyle Vincent had come to call simply Chaos.   
  
*RETURN...*   
  
Vincent shook his head in disbelief. "Did you speak, demon?" he asked to the air, unsettled by the sound of fear in his own voice.   
  
*...GO BACK TO HER...*   
  
"No!" he shouted, fighting the pounding in his skull. "I can never go back!"   
  
*DO NOT FIGHT HER...*   
  
He collapsed to the floor, clutching the picture to his chest tightly. "Never..." he whispered weakly. He watched helplessly as his human hand morphed into a black, scaly appendage with clawed digits. It still clung tenaciously to the photograph. Searing pain blinded him briefly as two clawed, leathery wings sprouted from his back, destroying his shirt and cape and ripping deep tears in the wallpaper. Suddenly he shook his head, harnessing all his self-control. "You will not win this time," he said fiercely through clenched teeth. Slowly, his claw changed back into the pale, familiar hand he knew, and his wings drew together and folded back down, disappearing into his back.   
  
He wiped beads of perspiration from his brow and dropped his arm to his side wearily. He stood up weakly and placed the photograph back on the mantle. Finally he groaned in pain, collapsing on his bed. The last thing he saw was the impression of broad, sweeping gouges made by clawmarks in the ceiling. 


	7. Chapter Six

//I'M SORRY!!!! I'm sooo sorry I took so long writing this dang chapter! Curse my writer's block!//  
  
Chapter 6  
  
  
  
Blurry faces.  
  
That was all she could make out as she lay on something soft. Yes, a bed. Hushed voices surrounded her, speaking to each other as the blurs shifted and became clearer. She saw a young man with spiky blonde hair that jutted toward the ceiling. A pretty young woman with chocolate hair and shining burgundy eyes. A tall blad man with sunglasses and a goatee. A blonde woman with eyes that looked like two fudge truffles. A dishevelled young man with wild red hair and two symmetrical scars on his cheeks. And finally, a young, thin blonde man with sad blue eyes. He was kneeling by her bed, his frail hand on hers.  
  
"Rufus?"  
  
His face lit up. "Yuffie, how are you feeling?"  
  
She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision as much as she could. "I'm hot..."  
  
"Reno!" he shouted.  
  
"W-what?" stuttered the Turk, sitting up straight in his chair. "Yes, Mr., I mean, Rufus?"  
  
"See if the air conditioner is on," said the young man. "If it is, turn it up more."  
  
Elena frowned. "But it's freezing in here already!"  
  
"Just go, Reno."  
  
He sighed. "Yes, sir."  
  
Yuffie tried to prop herself up further, but Rufus pushed her gently back down. "What do you need, Yuff?"  
  
"I have to get these frickin' blankets off," she said irritably. "They're scratchy."  
  
"Oh, all right," he said, smiling. Even when she was sick, she informed everyone of her discomfort. "Let me."  
  
He pulled the heavy wool blanket down to her knees, exposing her mint green pajamas. Her eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Why am I in my pajamas? What's wrong with me?"  
  
"We think you have pneumonia, honey," said Tifa quietly. "It must be an unusual strain, because you passed out very quickly."  
  
Reno came back and sat down in his chair again. He looked Yuffie's blanket with wide aquamarine eyes. "Hey, is she using that?"  
  
Cloud shook his head absently, and Reno snatched the blanket off the bed, throwing it around itself. Elena smacked his arm. "It has germs on it, stupid! Do you want to get pneumonia too?"  
  
"Don't call me stupid!" said Reno angrily. "I'm your leader, you know." He turned to the thin man by the bed. "Is there anything else I can do?" he asked seriously, causing Cloud and Tifa to turn to each other slowly.  
  
Rufus looked at Yuffie. "What else do you need?" he asked softly.  
  
"I..." she trailed off, looking around in confusion. "Where's Vincent?"  
  
"*What?*" blurted Elena.  
  
"He's not here, Yuffie," said Rufus slowly, feeling strange. *The delirium must be kicking in,* he thought. "He's gone, remember?"  
  
She sighed, curling up in her bed. "Oh yeah." She closed her eyes in defeat. "Is there any juice?"  
  
Reno jumped up quickly. "I'll go check," he said, dashing out the door. Rude stood up silently and followed him out, and Elena grabbed the blanket off Reno's chair, wrapping herself in it.  
  
  
  
"What are you doing?" asked Rude as he watched Reno open the refrigerator.  
  
The Turk looked up at his friend in confusion. "What does it look like I'm doin'? I'm looking for the juice."  
  
"No," said Rude, shaking his head. "Listen. Over the years, I've known you to do some pretty unexpected things, and I've always obeyed your orders, no matter how strange. But now you're waiting hand and foot on one of our enemies," he said, forming what was practically a speech by Rude standards. "What's with you?"  
  
"Are you nuts!?" exclaimed Reno, pulling the orange juice out of the refrigerator and slamming it loudly. "In case you've forgotten, that's Rufus Shin-ra upstairs. He may have been bawling his eyes out when we were dragging that Wutainese chick all the way here. He may be so completely gone from amnesia that he'll never remember how powerful and unstoppable he was, but he's *still* Rufus Shin-ra. And we still have a loyalty to him, and I don't know about you or 'Lena, but I'm going to *respect* that loyalty. Even if it means 'waiting hand and foot on one of our enemies'."  
  
Rude stared steadily at him through his sunglasses. "Finished?"  
  
Reno took a deep breath, pushing his own shades further up on his forehead. "Yeah."  
  
The tall Turk pulled a glass out of the cupboard and set it on the countertop. When his flame-haired leader looked up at him questioningly, he raised the corner of his mouth in a Rude smile. "Hurry it up with that juice. We mustn't keep Miss Kisaragi waiting."  
  
  
  
Elena pulled the blanket tighter around her slender shoulders. "Is Yuffie delirious or something?" she asked jokingly. "Because I *thought*-- this may sound crazy-- that she said something about Valentine." She laughed. "Yeah, that does sound crazy," she added, answering her own question.  
  
Tifa blinked at her is if she must be insane. Elena was starting to agree, until the dark-haired young woman spoke, and the Turk realized she was scrutinizing her for an entirely different reason. "Of course she was talking about Vincent," she said, surprised by Elena's doubt. "He disappeared over four months ago, and we can't understand why."  
  
"I *know* he disappeared," Elena snapped, trying to make Tifa look like the imbecile. "Nobody's heard about him since he was supposedly here, at your place. It's just like he vanished into thin air." She snorted. "Though I doubt there could be that many places he'd probably go."  
  
Rufus' head shot up. He had been barely listening until now. "What do you mean?"  
  
"You guys do know Valentine, don't you?" she asked in disbelief. "There aren't too many places he could be. I'm surprised you haven't looked for him. He's your friend, right?"  
  
"Of course he's our friend," Cloud replied indignantly. "If you're saying--"  
  
"I'm not saying anything." Elena lifted her nose primly. "Except if you really cared about one of your comrades, you wouldn't be hanging around here, sitting on your--"  
  
"Stop!!"  
  
Yuffie had pulled herself to a sitting position, sagging against her pillow. "I don't care if you guys argue till Second Meteor! I just want to know where you think Vinnie is!"  
  
"Yuffie, please," Rufus said soothingly, trying to ease her back down.  
  
The ailing ninja would have none of that. "Knock it off, Rufus," she said harshly, causing Rufus to sink back into his chair with a hurt puppy look in his eyes.  
  
"Well?"  
  
Elena studied the girl's impatient features, then sighed. "Look, I wouldn't say I'm the most reliable source when it comes to Vincent Valentine, but--"  
  
"What about Valentine?"  
  
Everyone in the room looked up to see Reno easing his lanky frame in his chair, the hulking mass of Rude following suit behind him. The flame-haired Turk placed a glass of orange juice on the bedside table. "Hey 'Lena, what's this about Vampire Boy?" he repeated.  
  
"I was *going* to say," she said slowly, irritated, "That there aren't many places he could be."  
  
"Oh yeah, not too many," Reno said thoughtfully, almost to himself. "Seeing as how he's in Nibelheim."  
  
"*What*?!?" was the simultaneous response around the room.  
  
"I saw him at the general store in Nibelheim a week ago, when I was visiting my gramma," he said, ignoring their looks at his use of the word 'gramma'. "I didn't say anything, 'cause he scares the bejesus out of me."  
  
Elena clenched her small fists in anger. "Why didn't you say anything?!"  
  
He shrugged. "I dunno. I thought we were still on juice...."  
  
"Oh, Vincent," Yuffie groaned, sliding back onto the bed.  
  
Rufus put his frail arm around her comfortingly. "It's okay, Yuff. We know where he is now." He raised his head slowly. "I can find him and bring him back to you."  
  
A stunned silence enveloped the small bedroom. Finally Cloud ventured to ask, "Hey, kiddo? Do you know what you just said?"  
  
"Of course I do," the boy replied firmly. "If I hadn't, I wouldn't have said it. I'm going to find Vincent."  
  
"Mr. President," said Rude, too flustered to drop the formality. "You're not exactly in top physical condition. ...You're not... going alone, are you?"  
  
Rufus dropped his head to his chest. "I have to," he said softly. "I have this weird feeling that... he won't listen to anyone but me."  
  
Tifa came forward and took his fragile hand in her strong ones. "We've known you long enough to know that we can't stop you, sweetie," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "But are you sure you want to do this? You might not come back."  
  
"I know, Teef," he whispered sadly. "But--" He leaned closer to her-- "I also know that Yuffie needs to be with the person she loves." A strange sound that could have been a laugh or a sob escaped his lips. "And God knows it's not me."  
  
Tifa glimpsed an odd pain in his eyes, but before she could question him, he straightened himself and stood. "I have no choice. I'm the one that has to go. I'm sorry."  
  
Reno smiled sadly, the glow in his aquamarine eyes dimming for a brief moment. "For a minute there, I thought I saw the old Rufus Shin-ra stubbornness breaking through."  
  
The blonde boy turned to him. "If I don't come back, promise me one thing."  
  
"Anything," Reno replied, his loyalty unwavering.  
  
Rufus bit his lip. "Please take good care of Yuffie."  
  
The Turk closed his eyes and nodded.  
  
"Rufie, you don't have to do this," said Yuffie, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and standing up straight in an inexplicable burst of energy. "Please stay, *please*."  
  
"No, Yuffie." He shook his head. "Don't make this any harder." He slowly reached up and stroked her feverish cheek. "Whatever happens to me, just remember all the great times we had together."  
  
"Don't go, Rufus, listen to me!" she cried, anger, fear, and sadness mixing together in her voice. "I already lost Vincent. I don't want to lose you, too!" She threw her arms around his slender neck, sobbing into his shoulder.  
  
Rufus buried his fingers in her hair. "I promise I'll bring him back to you," he whispered, wiping a tear indiscriminately from his cheek. "Even if I don't come back, you *will* see Vincent again." He pulled away from her and strode toward the door.  
  
As he turned back to face her, for what might be the last time, he mouthed three words that everyone in the room could easily see:  
  
*I love you.* 


	8. Chapter Seven

//I've decided to postpone my FF8 fic, 'Never Forget', until I get this story done. Speaking of *this* dang fanfic... All jokes aside, I have *no* idea where the plot is going. But I'd like to thank Sorceress Fujin, magnum opus, Demeter, Scarr, Queen Vegeta, and everyone who's been faithfully following along and reviewing. ...And don't give up. It'll be over soon.//  
  
Chapter 7  
  
  
  
Catching a chocobo proved far more difficult that Rufus Shin-ra had anticipated. If he had known what stubborn, easily frightened animals they were, he would have taken Cloud's gold chocobo, or Yuffie's bird Hibiscus. He hadn't thought to bring any greens, in case he chanced to encounter one of the gangly creatures, and now he was sorely regretting it.  
  
*Just remember who you're doing this for, stupid,* he told himself harshly, trudging through the Midgar Plains, which had turned wet and soggy after a spring rain. He figured if he could make it to Kalm before nightfall, he would spend the night at an inn and rent a chocobo in the morning.  
  
Inevitably, the boy's thoughts drifted back to Yuffie, lying there in her bedroom, worrying feverishly about two of her best friends she both lost in a matter of months. He hoped Reno would keep his word and take care of her if he didn't return. He had a feeling that the flame-haired Turk would obey an order to jump into Junon Harbor if it was coming from his young president. He felt some kind of bizarre comfort in the fact that Yuffie would be well-cared for if he died.  
  
Rufus closed his eyes, a weariness that had nothing to do with travel washing over him. *Yuffie,* he thought sadly. *I'll bring Vincent back to you.* The thought of the tall, dark ex-Turk brought a rush of anger. He didn't know what reasons Vincent had for leaving. They very well might have been understandable, had Rufus been aware of them. All he knew is that the man had hurt Yuffie in some way, and she deserved better. But he would find him... for her.  
  
The warm shades of orange and crimson grazed the mountains as the sun began to set, and after a while Rufus could barely make out the faint outline of the sleepy town of Kalm. He blinked at the sight, surprised. From his earliest memories, although few in number, he had been accustomed to the large, bustling city of Midgar. To lay eyes upon such a tiny, secluded village was something he had never experienced. Or at least, he didn't think so.  
  
His aching feet almost had minds of their own as he drug himself into Kalm, whereupon he found no activity. There was another thing: the streets of Midgar were busy all night long, but this town seemed to fall asleep at sunset. He wandered the cobblestone streets, looking for an inn, until he found a quaint little cottage with an intricately carved sign that read:  
  
Wallace & Co.  
Bed and Breakfast  
  
Rufus' shoulders slumped in relief as he shuffled through the door, causing a bell tinkle overhead. A pretty, middle-aged woman with long auburn hair stood behind the counter. Hearing the bell, she smiled gently, looking up from the desk.  
  
"Hello, my name is Elmyra. How can I help..." The woman's smile faded as hazel eyes met ocean blue one. "...you?"  
  
Rufus tranferred his weight from one foot to another, then back again. Why was she staring at him so uneasily? "I'd like a room for the night, please," he tried, smiling amicably. "And do you know where I might rent a chocobo?"  
  
Elmyra averted her eyes to the counter once more. "I'm sorry, sir. I can't help you. I'm afraid you'll have to leave."  
  
"What?" Rufus cried. "But I just walked all the way from Midgar!" His weariness and impatience was beginning to take over his attempt at politeness. "I couldn't catch a freakin' chocobo, I have no idea how to get to Nibelheim, and I--"  
  
"'Myra, what's goin' on? We got a troublemaker?"  
  
The young man turned to see a hulking figure walking toward him. He had dark skin, a buzz-cut, and a formidable-looking projectile weapon attached to his arm. His appearance was so intimidating that Rufus took an instinctive step back.  
  
"I-- I j-just wanted to rent a room... Just for to-tonight," he stuttered, craning his neck to meet the man's irritated face. "I didn't mean to c-cause any trouble, sir."  
  
Angry recognition shone in the man's brown eyes. "Rufus Shin-ra," he said through clenched teeth. "I don't got the slightest clue how you survived that blast from WEAPON, or how the #%$* you're even standin' here in fronta me, but you got some nerve comin' here, boy."  
  
Suddenly everything became crystal clear. He wasn't welcome here because the receptionist, Elmyra, and this frightening individual standing not six inches away from him knew who he was. Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie had told him that his was a household name, but he had no idea *everybody* knew who he was.  
  
"I'm sorry, sir," he mumbled, staring down at the floor. "I guess I'm not the most well-liked person around. I'll go."  
  
As he walked toward the door, he felt an enormous hand tighten on his shoulder. He slowly turned back to the man, who now wore an expression of bewilderment.  
  
"Y-yes?" he whispered, fearing for his life.  
  
"There's somethin' different aboutcha, Shin-ra," he said, his eyes narrowing. "Like you're not the same person. How did you survive the explosion?"  
  
Rufus hung his head. "I'm not sure. All I remember is waking up inside some office building." The last thing he needed was a reminder of his worst memories: wandering the streets of Midgar with no idea who he was, waiting for starvation to take its toll, then finally meeting a pair of Mako blue eyes that had brought him out of his nightmare.  
  
The black man studied him a while longer. "What's my name?"  
  
Rufus blinked, beyond confused. "How would I know what your name is? I just met you!"  
  
The man suddenly dropped his hand from the boy's shoulder, genuine befuddlement in his stony features. "Elmyra," he called to the receptionist. "Get some coffee ready. Me an' Rufie-boy are gonna have a nice, long talk."  
  
  
  
"All this time, you been livin' with Spike, Teef, and the brat?" the man who had introduced himself as Barret Wallace asked, almost to himself. "This is too much."  
  
Rufus warmed his hands on his coffee mug. "Yuffie's not a brat," he said defensively.  
  
But Barret had apparently not heard him. "Too much," he repeated. He straightened in his chair. "An' now you're gonna go find Vince, 'cause he disappeared?"  
  
The boy nodded and sipped the hot black liquid, enjoying the way it warmed his tired body.  
  
"Yeah, I haven't heard from Vampy in a while," Barret mused. "He just left?"  
  
Rufus nodded again. "He left a note saying he was a bad influence on everyone, and no one's seen him since." He didn't bother mentioning the fact that the ex-Turk had hurt Yuffie. He had the feeling he didn't want to fuel the mercenary's already volatile personality.  
  
"Too much."  
  
"Yuffie came down with pneumonia," Rufus continued, fingering the mug's handle, wondering why he was divulging everything he knew to a man he had just met, and had been terrified of. Then again, if he was friends with Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie, that was good enough for him. "I asked Reno to take care of her while I'm gone--"  
  
"*Reno*?" Barret repeated, slamming his coffee mug against the dining room table. "How'd ya meet up with *that* piece o' crap?"  
  
*Piece of crap?* "I'm not sure what you have against Reno, or Rude and Elena," he said slowly. "But he said he'd take care of Yuff, and I trust him. I guess I used to be their boss or something, because they listen to every word I have to say."  
  
Barret sank back in his chair, shaking his head. "You really don't remember anything, do ya, kid?"  
  
"Not really," said Rufus sincerely.  
  
The black man took a long swallow from his mug, then sat in down carefully. "Your buddies, Reno, Rude, Elena, and another guy named Tseng were a group of assassins who worked for Shin-ra, called the Turks. They worked for *you*, Mr. President."  
  
The blonde stiffened. "No," he whispered.  
  
"'Fraid so. They were your personal henchmen, killin' everyone you thought a threat. In fact, you had ordered them to take out your old man. But of course, Jenova made their work a lot easier." He looked at the young man, who was staring blankly out into space. "You okay, kid?"  
  
A revulsed shudder passed through Rufus as images flashed across his eyes. He remembered. He remembered ordering the capture of the Cetra, Aeris Gainsborough. The last Ancient that Cloud cared so deeply for. He remembered looking on his father's corpse, a maniacal laugh escaping his lips as he realized he was the new president of Shin-ra. He remembered fighting Cloud, his best friend. Fighting with such malice and arrogance.  
  
He remembered.  
  
As if from miles away, he heard the shouts of Barret, Elmyra, and a little girl he realized must be Marlene; concerned voices as the room spun crazily. He felt a sharp pain in the back of his head as his eyes languidly fluttered closed. As one last thought entered his mind, he felt a deep ache in his heart.  
  
*I am Rufus Shin-ra, and I don't deserve Yuffie...*  
  
  
  
//Yep, I thought I'd put Barret in there, just for kicks. He's a fun guy to write about. And if you'll remember correctly, Elmyra is Aeris' adopted mother. I had such a great time writing about Rufus, though, let me tell you. He is so interesting! Not to mention a cutie. Read and review please!// 


	9. Chapter Eight

//'Bout time Vincent was back in this story, am I right? I just HATE writing him in such an unfavorable light. But it's vital to the story, and he's not REALLY as callous and insensitive as Rufus thinks. He just did what he believed was right. Forgive me, Vinnie!  
  
As I promised, this chapter is dedicated to my bishounen-crazed muse, Queen Vegeta, who helped me out during my *worst time*: the sting of writer's block. Thanks QV-chan!!//  
  
Chapter 8  
  
  
  
"I couldn't care less who you are, Mr. *Valentine*. I'm in the middle of very important work, and you're disturbing my assistant!"  
  
*Hmph... you cared when I put a bullet in your head.*  
  
His past. His sorrows, his sins, his mistakes... all lay across the hall, taking the shape of an ancient bookcase. Physically, there was absolutely nothing menacing about it. Blanketed with a fine layer of dust, cobwebs clinging tenaciously to the shelves, it appeared as if it should belong in the Nibelheim public library. As harmless as the books that resided within it.  
  
So why did the mere sight of it fill him with apprehension?  
  
"I'm pregnant... I'm sorry, Vincent, but I can't see you anymore..."  
  
*That makes sense, seeing as how I'm so painful to look at.*  
  
Taking a hesitant step toward it, Vincent closed his eyes as the events of his life-- his pre-AVALANCHE life-- flashed before him. Hojo, Lucrecia, and the pain both had brought him returned to him all at once as he reached toward a single book. The trigger book that opened the hidden passage to the basement laboratory.  
  
The ex-Turk paused as the long, tapered fingers of his human hand hovered over the spine of the book. The title read, 'The Phantom of the Opera'. Hojo had chosen this book as the trigger book for reasons one could only guess. Vincent supposed his choice was because the disturbed scientist had always possessed a penchant for opera. Or perhaps he clung to the wistful notion that a beautiful young woman might hold a place in her heart for a repulsive beast.  
  
"Lucrecia's dead, Turk. But don't worry, you'll soon be joining her."  
  
*A shame you didn't you kill me when you had the chance, Hojo. I had no reason for living to begin with.*  
  
"Oh, for God's sake," Vincent muttered, pulling on the book forcefully. A low creak could be heard as the bookcase slid open, yielding all its secrets. A fine mist snaked around his feet as he stepped into the passage.   
  
Lifting a foot to avoid a scurrying rat, he strode gingerly down a rotting spiral ramp, further and further into darkness. He didn't even fully comprehend why he was returning to this place of torture, why he felt inexplicably *compelled* to. He just let his steps take him back... to his past.  
  
"Please tell me one thing: Is my son alive? Is Sephiroth alive?"  
  
*Forgive me, Lucrecia...*  
  
Once inside the dungeon, the tall gunman hesitated as his blood-red eyes strayed to an open door which led to a small, cramped room filled with dusty coffins. He shook his head fiercely, continuing past it. There was no need to venture inside; thirty years was more than enough time for something to be burnt into his memory.  
  
Kicking away a human longbone, he stepped into the basement laboratory. The birthplace of evil, the start of everything that had triggered the most painful events of his life. Everythiing was exactly as it had been when he had last been there, from the holding tanks meant for the professor's experiments to the bloodstains on the wall. *His* bloodstains. Entering the library, Vincent felt an odd detachment, almost as if all those unspeakable things had happened to someone else-- surely not him.  
  
No such luck, however. It had indeed happened to him, and there was nothing he could do to change that.  
  
Suddenly he faltered where he stood, as if he could no longer keep his balance. He pulled the chair out from behind the desk and collapsed into it, his human hand on the table to steady himself.   
  
"You *should* smile, Vincent. People smile when they're... happy..."  
  
Vincent blinked. Where had that come from? It was only natural that the words of his colleagues so long ago might echo in his memory once he entered a place of his past, but Yuffie's words? Why should they be brought to mind now?  
  
"People smile when they're happy," he whispered, looking down at his gruesome claw, which was resting wearily on his lap. The truth was he was not happy, and never would be. But if that were true, why did he smile for Yuffie on three occasions, in only one night? Indeed, the smiles were genuine; Vincent never did anything out of pretense.   
  
Leaning back in the chair, his mind was taken to one particularly hot, miserable night in Cosmo Canyon. Though Red XIII had told his companions that his grandfather had gone away on some adventure of his own, they all knew where Bugenhagen had really gone-- The Lifestream. But none of them bothered to tell Nanaki they were all aware of what happened, so they spent the entire night avoiding the subject.  
  
  
  
*It's hotter inside that blasted planetarium than it is out here,* thought Vincent, wiping the sweat from his glistening brow. His headband lay an a heap at his side as he sat on the dusty ground outside Bugenhagen's observatory atop the mesa, looking out over the small canyon town. As he breathed deeply, inhaling the sweet desert air, he thought briefly about the benefits of living in such a village. It was quiet, clean, and undisturbed by the lights and technology of the rest of the Planet. Certainly something to think about, if he survived this insane quest.  
  
"Holy mother of Bahamut, it's hot!!"  
  
Vincent turned sharply to see Yuffie slamming the door of the observatory behind her. She looked at him and grinned. "Hey Vinnie, being anti-social as usual?"  
  
"You're out here, aren't you?" he answered dryly, ignoring the girl's protruding tongue.  
  
She waved her shuriken jokingly at him and collapsed unceremoniously next to him on the ground. Her bangs were damp with sweat, and she had a comely flush on her cheeks from the desert heat. She stretched exaggeratedly and plopped her hands in her lap. As Vincent watched her carefree movements, the corner of his lips turned up unbidden.  
  
She turned to stare at him in disbelief. "I cannot believe you, Vinnie. It's practically an oven out here, and you're still wearing that cape! You *really* need to ease up, boy!"  
  
Narrowing his crimson eyes with mock irritation, he loosened the clasps of his cloak and shrugged out of it, revealing yet another article of black clothing. As he unfastened the first three buttons of his shirt, he looked up at the ninja, amused to see her blush deepen. "Happy now?"  
  
Turning away to look out over the canyon, Yuffie mumbled an "I guess" and crossed one leg over the other. She found Vincent's headband on the ground and fingered it absently in her lap as she gazed at the little village. "This place sure is pretty at night," she said, smiling. "The Cosmo Candle looks brighter than before." She pointed at the glowing fire burning at the center of the town.   
  
"Maybe it's in honor of Nanaki's grandfather," she said thoughtfully. Suddenly she stood up, brushing the dust off her shorts. "May the stars shine brightly at the end of your road, Bugenhagen." She bowed toward the Cosmo Candle and sat back down at Vincent's side.  
  
"Yuffie," breathed the brooding gunman, looking at her in amazement. "That was beautiful."  
  
The girl grinned, easing onto her back to stare up at the night sky. "I'm not always the bratty little thief you think I am, Vinnie."  
  
He looked at her sadly, fully aware that his young companion suffered from depression, though she would never admit to it. He lay on his back next to her and settled his hands behind his head; something very difficult to accomplish comfortably when one's left hand is made of metal. For a while neither spoke, enjoying the familiar silence between them.  
  
Finally Vincent ventured to ask, "Did you really mean it?"  
  
"Mean what?" Yuffie swivelled her head to look at him, confused.  
  
"What you said that day in Junon," he said quietly, looking up at the stars. "About my being your best friend. ...Did you mean it?"  
  
She smiled and raised herself to a sitting position again. Propping her arms on his chest, she rested her chin on top of them. "Would I ever lie to you?"  
  
"Yes," he replied instantly, recieving a smack from Yuffie's hand.  
  
"Okay, so I would have before," she continued, laughing. "But not now. I meant what I said, Vincent. You may be a cold, solemn, psycho of a guy, but you're the sweetest psycho I've ever known."  
  
He raised a dark eyebrow. "Compliment noted."  
  
Yuffie turned onto her back once more and settled her head on Vincent's chest. A sudden flutter rose up in his chest as her hair brushed against his collarbone. Completely unaware of her friend's discomfort, she simply said, "Hey, Vinnie. Knock, knock."  
  
"I beg your pardon?"  
  
"You're supposed to say, 'Who's there?'"  
  
He sighed. "Who's there?"  
  
"Jamaican."  
  
"What now?"  
  
"Just say, 'Jamaican who?'"  
  
"Jamaican who?"  
  
"Jamaican me crazy!!" Yuffie burst out laughing, then rolled to her side to face him, her head still on his torso. "Oh, what's the point? You wouldn't laugh if you saw Barret in a tutu."   
  
Vincent felt her relax slightly as her gray eyes slipped shut. After a while he realized she had fallen asleep, his headband still in her hands. Her soft breath flitted across his neck, and he shivered with uninvited pleasure. Suddenly he felt the urge to pull her closer against him, stroking her hair and running his hand over her smooth skin. But he blamed his impulses on the sweltering heat, and shrugged off the unwelcome thoughts angrily.  
  
Instead, he turned his attention to the stars. He could make out a few of the constellations, but his mind wasn't in the heavens.  
  
*Jamaican me crazy,* he thought, letting out a small laugh.  
  
  
  
With his head in his hands, Vincent realized why Yuffie possessed the rare talent of making him smile: She made him happy. And for that, he couldn't forgive himself.  
  
GO TO HER.  
  
He looked up sharply as the words of the demon reverberated in his mind. "What did you say?"  
  
DO NOT FIGHT HER.  
  
"Why do you keep saying that?" he asked furiously. "Why should a repulsive beast like you care about the events of my life?"  
  
HUMANS. Vincent thought he detected a note of annoyance in the one word Chaos "spoke".  
  
Without warning, the telltale pulsing began deep in his mind, then began to spread, reaching his ears and temples. Groaning, he fell to the floor, unable to fight the transformation. Pain ripped mercilessly through him as his limbs slowly metamorphosized into wicked claws, and giant black wings sprang from his back.  
  
And, as his vision began to blur, the world fell away.  
  
  
  
:::Vincent stands in blackness. And then, ever so gently, and image appears before him: a young girl of eighteen steps up to him, smiling sadly. Her hair is the color of chestnut bark, and her eyes are slate-gray and full of youthful, crackling energy. Yet they are full of sorrow.  
  
'Vinnie,' she says, edging closer to him. 'Why did you leave me?'  
  
He turns away, unable to look at her. 'I'm sorry, Yuffie. I did not want to, but I had no choice.'  
  
'Is it because you think you're evil? Or because I won't accept you?'  
  
He closes his eyes. 'Both.'  
  
She lifts her hand to turn his face toward her. 'You have a lot to learn, Vincent,' she whispers, taking his metal claw in her hands and holding it against her face.  
  
He enfolds her in his arms and holds her against him gratefully. Lifting her head up, he bends down to bestow a long, loving kiss on her lips. Beginning to feel more complete, he trails a number of quick, sweet kisses down her neck and on her shoulder. Never has Vincent felt happier.  
  
Suddenly she is yanked away from him. She begins to drift from him, and Vincent latches desperately onto her hand, unwilling to lose her again. But an unseen force tears their entwined hands from each other, and she fades into darkness.:::  
  
  
  
Opening his eyes painfully, Vincent struggled to sit up. When his vision finally cleared, he discovered with a shock that the entire library had been destroyed. Books lay in burning piles on the singed carpet, and the desk was a smoldering heap that was barely recognizable. He stood up with much difficulty and looked around with the growing realization that he was the culprit.  
  
DO YOU UNDERSTAND?  
  
Vincent blinked, the memory of his waking dream returning to him. "Yuffie," he whispered, mopping the sweat from his face with his headband, "She's in danger!"  
  
YOU LEARN WELL.  
  
Stepping hastily over the debris, he hurried out of the library, past the laboratory, and out of the dungeon as fast as his unsteady legs would allow.  
  
  
  
//Wow, this was a long one! For those of you who had *no* idea what happened, Vincent goes into a dream-like state whenever Chaos takes over. At least, in my fic. ^_^ Once again, thank you to Queen Vegeta for making all this possible. Are you happy, QV-chan? I made Vinnie all sweaty for ya!// 


	10. Chapter Nine

//Wow, almost fifty reviews! I never thought I'd get *that* many... Thanks for your interest and support!//  
  
Chapter 9  
  
  
  
"Elmywa? What's wrong wif him?"  
  
"He fainted, dear. But I think he might be coming around... Poor young man..."  
  
"Yeah, poor. Just remember who he is, 'Myra."  
  
"I know, I know. I wonder what made him pass out like that?"  
  
"I'm not-- Hey, he's wakin' up! You okay, Shin-ra?"  
  
Rufus opened his azure eyes painfully and examined his surroundings. As his vision cleared, he found he was in a stereotypical room at an inn, which after a while he realized was the inn at Kalm... Yes, he recalled he had been talking with the large black man, Barret. Cloud's friend. He had told him the truth about the Turks, and then...  
  
"Oh, God," he moaned, wincing and massaging his temples. Barret and Elmyra were knelt at the bedside, along with a little girl with shiny brown hair. Rufus looked at the child and smiled despite himself. "Marlene?"  
  
She grinned, nodding vigorously. "Yup, that's me! And you'we Wufus Shin-wa?"  
  
He nodded and forced himself up to a sitting position, swinging his slender legs onto the cold wooden floor. He looked over at Barret. "How long was I out?"  
  
"Not long," he said, shrugging. "'Bout two hours, maybe two and a half. What made ya just keel over like that?"  
  
Rufus closed his eyes, lowering his weary head to his chest. For a while he could not bring himself to answer. Finally he spoke, almost too softly to be heard. "I remembered. It... it all came back to me."  
  
"You mean, everything?" Elmyra ventured, fingering the collar of her blouse nervously. It seemed all were eager for the boy to end his painful contemplation.  
  
"Every... last... detail," he said bitterly, through clenched teeth. "I ordered the kidnapping of Aeris Gainsborough, the last Cetra." This caused Elmyra to shift uneasily in her place. "I gave Hojo my special permission to experiment on the Ancient, along with the animal we codenamed 'Red XIII'. I... I ordered Tseng to kill my father," he finished, burying his head in his hands. It was plain to see that the boy was on the verge of a mental breakdown.  
  
"Marlene," said Barret quickly, ushering the child out of the room, "Why doncha call your Uncle Cid and see how Shera and the baby are doing? You haven't talked to Cid in a while. 'Myra, you go with her."  
  
Marlene hurried out the door along with Elmyra, looking at Rufus with wide brown eyes. Barret turned around to face the young blond once more. "Kid, I don't really know what I could say to comfort ya. I mean, it's kinda hard to think of anything... fitting, ya know?"  
  
Suddenly Rufus stood up and paced back and forth across the room. "Don't you get it? I didn't want anyone to get in the way of *my* success. I would have killed my own father, if Jenova hadn't! I tried to kill Cloud! *Cloud*! My best friend! I don't deserve to live!!" He squeezed his eyes shut, not daring to allow the tears to trickle forth. "And I don't deserve Yuffie..." he whispered in utter misery.  
  
Barret stood tall and silent, unable to think of anything to say. He wished that he didn't agree with every word Rufus said, but he did. Still, watching the young man pace to and fro with a feverish restlessness as he stood at the edge of sanity, Barret tried desperately to think of some way to console him.  
  
As Barret watched helplessly, Rufus suddenly stopped, searching the room with a bizarre hunger in his wild blue eyes. The cerulean orbs fell upon the bedside lamp, an oil lantern with a glass vessel containing lighter fuel. He made his way toward the small table and yanked the drawer open, spilling its entire contents onto the bedspread. As his hands fished through the objects, Barret's dark eyes widened in horror as he saw what those frenzied fingers had wrapped themselves around.  
  
It was a book of matches.  
  
"Rufus, don't!!" he bellowed, advancing on him. The boy took the oil lamp into his hands, and with one swift motion, shattered it against his chest, staining his shirt with lighter fuel and blood from the glass shards that had gashed his tender skin. He raised the matchbook to strike one of the heads against the box, but Barret threw himself on top of him, pinning the frail young man to the floor with his massive bulk.  
  
Breathing hard, he pulled the matchbook from Rufus's tenacious hand and smacked him on the side of the head with it. "Whaddya think you're doin', foo?!" he roared as Rufus struggled underneath him.  
  
"LET ME GO!!" the boy cried in a high, strangled voice. "You couldn't *possibly* understand!! The Planet would be better off if I was dead!" His shoulders slumped, and he moaned in a voice filled with pure anguish and heartbreak. "Yuffie's better off with Vincent."  
  
Barret never thought he could feel such pity for a person that he used to so despise. But Rufus Shin-ra was no longer the proud, arrogant, ruthless man he had once been. He was a broken, defeated, wisp of a boy who had not a shred of respect for himself. Barret could tell that he loved Yuffie dearly, but he loathed himself too much to permit himself to tell her. Perhaps she *was* better off with Vincent...  
  
"Vincent!" he suddenly exclaimed. Rufus looked up at him in surprise. "You said you were gonna go find Vincent! Didn't you promise Yuff you'd find him-- for her?" Rufus gazed dully up at the ceiling, but Barret shook him violently. "Didn't ya!? Answer me, boy!"  
  
"Yes," he whispered, finally meeting Barret's angry stare with his own haunted one. "I did."  
  
The large man's sable eyes bored holes into him. "You gonna break that promise by killin' yourself? What's that gonna accomplish? Yuffie already lost Vincent. You think she wants to lose you, too?"  
  
Hot tears streamed down Rufus's delicate face. He shook his head, wiping his cheeks and smearing them with blood in the process. "I can't live without her," he said weakly, "But if she doesn't even feel the same way, I might as well not live at all."  
  
"Don't say that, kid," said Barret quietly, shaking his head. "How do ya think that'd make her feel? Just... see who she chooses, all right?" He picked the boy up as if he weighed no more than a feather pillow and set him on his feet. "Let's get you washed up. I don't want Marlene to see you like this."  
  
At that moment Elmyra peeked her head into the doorway. "I heard a crash, and I was worried something might have--" Her hazel eyes widened as she saw Rufus, stained with blood, tears, and lantern oil. "Oh, my!" she cried, her hand flying to her mouth.  
  
"Rufus had a brief lapse in sanity," said Barret, brushing past her. "Why doncha go help him wash up and make sure he's outta range of anything sharp, okay? Is Marlene still talkin' to Cid?"  
  
Elmyra blinked. "Yes, why?"  
  
He turned to Rufus. "You said Vince was in Nibelheim?"  
  
"As far as I know," he replied.  
  
Barret grinned. "Looks like the good captain might have to take the Highwind out for a spin," he said, walking out the door.  
  
  
  
Reno was definitely not the kind of companionship Yuffie would have preferred. He was loud, crude, and sloppy, and only did what she asked him after telling him at least five times. Tifa or Cloud would have kept her company, but Cloud was busy with his weapon shop, and his wife had gone to Sector 5 to get groceries. Rude and Elena had gone to one of Reeve's weekly meetings, and Yuffie was starting to think even they would have been more pleasant to be with than Reno, man of a thousand dirty or just plain bad jokes.  
  
"Hey, Kisaragi," he said, stretching out in his chair beside her bed. The ninja had grown accustomed to the Turk's use of her last name. "What do you get when you cross a manwhore with a circus clown?"  
  
Yuffie sighed, meeting his aquamarine gaze with a mischievous glint. "Gee, I don't know," she said, smirking. "You?"  
  
Reno pursed his lips. "Dang, girl, you're a clever one today, aren't you? Apparently my intellect is no match for yours, so I guess I'll just go home and leave you here all alone. I'm sure you and your massive brain can figure out how to work the childproof lid on your medicine, right?"  
  
She laughed and shook her head. "Not me, I'm too dense." That was one thing he had going for him: where politeness failed, Reno could always make her laugh. And even though she would never admit it, she was grateful for the distraction. Heaven knew her mind was troubled with the thoughts and worries about two of her dearest friends. She would never get a break from her sullen mood if it wasn't for Reno.  
  
The Turk looked at her thoughtfully. "Look, Kisaragi," he said, leaning back in his chair. "I know you're just tryin' to put on a brave face and all that. But I can tell you miss Mr. Pres--" He caught himself and smacked his forehead, causing his sunglasses to go askew. "*Rufus*. You ain't too good at hiding your feelings."  
  
"Well, yeah, of course I miss him," she said defensively, fingering the edge of her blanket. "He's one of my best friends."  
  
"No, no, no," he said quickly, pushing his shades back out of his wild red bangs. "That's not what I meant, and you know it. Man, why didn't you tell him how you felt before he left?!"  
  
"Because I didn't *know* how I felt, okay?" Yuffie cried angrily, propping herself against her pillows. "And I still don't! Yeah, I have feelings for him, but I have feelings for Vinnie, too! And I can't decide who to choose!" She buried her face in her hands, sobbing. "There, are you happy?"  
  
Reno opened his mouth, but thought better of it. Instead, he simply left his chair and sat down on the edge of the bed. Reaching out with a tentative hand, he brought it to rest on the girl's shoulder. "Hey, come on," he said in what he hoped was a comforting tone. "You'll see them again. I know it. If I know anyone who can get himself out of a rough situation, it's Rufus Shin-ra. And I'm sure Valentine's the same way."  
  
Yuffie gave him a teary smile. "Thanks, Turk," she said, punching his arm.  
  
"No problem, Kisaragi. Now I better keep my distance, if I don't want to catch your germs." He grinned and whacked her lightly on the chin. He stood up, wondering how he could have thrown away his resentment for AVALANCHE in such a short period of time. It must have been because of Rufus's affections for the Strife household. Any friend of the president's was a friend of Reno's... to a degree.  
  
"Hey, Reno," said Yuffie, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Where'd you leave the remote control? I'm gonna go watch TV."  
  
"Planning on rotting your brain with cartoons? Okay, I'll join ya." He turned toward the door to leave, and his jaw dropped.  
  
There, in the doorway, stood a tall, lean man with eyes as red as smoldering embers and long hair like ravens' feathers. His trim shoulders were draped with a cloak that was almost as deep a shade of crimson as his eyes, and at his side hung an arm of tarnished brass.  
  
Yuffie's eyes widened in disbelief. "Vincent?!"  
  
Reno simply gaped at him. "Valentine!!"  
  
"Yes," he replied, his sonorous voice thick with exhaustion. He staggered toward Yuffie on weak legs and took her hand in his claw. "I'm here, Yuffie," he whispered, stroking her cheek gently with his human fingers. "And I promise I will never leave you again."  
  
  
  
//MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Cliffhangers to all, and to all a horribly restless night!!// 


	11. Chapter Ten

//60 reviews! *blushes* Really, people, I don't deserve all this praise! But I appreciate it, to say the least. Thank you, everyone!//  
  
Chapter 10  
  
  
  
There was something about the wind in his face that made Rufus feel calm... almost like he could forget everything-- his past, his sins, the people he hurt. The gusts of air attempted to cleanse his guilty soul as the giant airship, The Highwind, flew across the mountains and plains toward Nibelheim.  
  
Rufus felt peaceful.  
  
That did not, sufficed to say, convince Barret enough to let him stand on the deck alone, lest the young man get the notion to throw himself over the railing. The large fellow stood nearby, keeping a close eye on Rufus. He was surprised that Barret cared enough to watch over him, considering his deep hatred that had been present in his mind less than forty-eight hours ago.  
  
*People change, just like I did,* Rufus thought, propping a bony elbow onto the metal hand rail. *I only hope the same is true for Vincent.*  
  
  
  
Cid Highwind was a very ill-mannered man in Rufus's eyes. He had met him before, when Shin-ra Inc. had still been in power, and he had always thought that "coarse" would be an extremely generous word to describe him. He smoked, swore profusely, and had the distasteful habit of picking his teeth with his spearpoint. All in all, not a man who said "please" and "thank you" at the dinner table. How he managed to land a wife was beyond Rufus.  
  
The boy stood tensely behind Barret as they stood next to the airship's pilot. The wind, however agreeable it felt, had begun to grow far too cold for Rufus's liking. But now, as he watched Cid from a safe distance, the biting wind was starting to sound more and more inviting.  
  
When Barret had first told Cid of the situation with Rufus, he had been resolute in his refusal to escort them to Nibelheim in his airship, stringing his adamant "NO" with an abundance of profanities. Thankfully, knowing Cid could never hold out long under a woman's plea, Elmyra had taken over the conversation on the PHS, explaining the dilemma carefully. Once she mentioned the fact that Rufus was going to find Vincent for Yuffie, Cid grudgingly agreed. Though the surly pilot found enjoyment in teasing the young ninja, deep down he was actually quite fond of the girl.  
  
Cid shifted his weight from one foot to the other, removing the remains of his breakfast with his Venus Gospel. Suddenly the cigarette that rested perilously on his lips fell to the deck. "Holy $#%&!!" he exclaimed, causing Rufus to wrinkle his nose in offense. He pointed out the front window at the rapidly approaching town of Nibelheim. "You notice anything wrong about this picture?!"  
  
Rufus squinted his dazzling blue eyes, trying to figure out what had gotten Cid so agitated. It was Nibelheim. He had been there many times before. He had stayed at the executive suite in the inn. Granted, he had never bothered to go inside the Shin-ra mansion; it was too dilapidated, but--  
  
The mansion! Where was it?!  
  
"What the...?" Rufus blinked, not fully believing his eyes. "What happened to the mansion?!"  
  
Barret's dark eyes grew as large as saucers. "It's *gone*!! Where'd it go?"  
  
"That's what I wouldn't mind findin' out," said Cid, easing the Highwind to a stop as it reached the borders of the town. Grabbing his pack of cigarettes, he strode out of the cockpit, motioning for them to follow. "Let's go," he called after him.  
  
  
  
Smoldering ashes were all that was left of the Shin-ra mansion. The once-imposing manor lay in black, smoking piles. As Rufus kicked aside a piece of debris, he wondered what in the world could have caused it.  
  
Barret stood dumbfounded, scratching the back of his neck with his good hand. Once or twice he bent over, poking at the rubble with his gunarm, but he was silent the entire time.  
  
Cid, however, merely grunted in satisfaction. "'Bout time this place went down," he said, planting his spear in the ground with a sense of finality. "Only thing that was left of that sicko Hojo was his lab, and now it's gone. I say, good riddance!" He spit on the ashes.  
  
Finally Barret spoke up. "Don't say that, foo! What if Vince was in there when it burned down? You know where he was when we found 'im. He was sawin' logs in that nasty old coffin down in the basement."  
  
"I doubt Vincent was dumb enough to stick around while the #&*%in' house was burning down around him," Cid replied, shaking his head. "We both know he's smarter than that. We just need to ask the people," he added, looking around, "if they saw a tall freak with a brass claw leave."  
  
"Excuse me," said Rufus, catching a passer-by on the arm. The young girl who was approximately fifteen stared up at him with wide hazel eyes. "Do you know what happened to the Shin-ra mansion?"  
  
"You're Rufus Shin-ra!" she exclaimed angrily, yanking her arm from his grasp. "You think I'd tell *you* anything?"  
  
Barret and Cid looked down at their feet uneasily, and Rufus sighed. That was probably going to happen to him a lot from now on.  
  
"Look," he said wearily, "I don't blame you for not trusting me. No one else does. I just want you to tell me if you know anything about what happened here. Please?"  
  
Perhaps the girl saw something in the sorrowful blue depths of his eyes, or perhaps she merely did not feel like arguing at the moment. Either way, she finally relented. "A few days ago, I was coming home from the grocery store with my friend Ardra, and there was this God-awful scream that came from the mansion. If you wanted to call it that. To me and Ardra, it sounded like a roar. Then we heard a bunch of crashes and explosions. We thought that some monster had gotten inside and was attacking that guy who lived there. He never kept the door locked."  
  
Cid looked up sharply. "What guy?"  
  
"That tall guy with the long black hair," she replied, turning away slightly to hide a blush. "I think his name was Vincent. Ardra always said I was crazy, but I thought he was kind of cute. In a scary way." She looked around and covered her mouth. "Whoops! I guess there aren't any other girls here."  
  
"Didja see him leave the mansion?" asked Barret.  
  
She nodded. "Yeah, a few minutes later he came staggering out of there, looking seriously beat up. He walked past us without word or explanation of what the heck happened to him. But he did have something in his hand, like a book or a picture frame or something. Then he just left Nibelheim, and we haven't see him since. Next thing I know, the whole mansion burst into flames!"  
  
Rufus grasped her hand tightly. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"  
  
"Um, can I go now?" she asked timidly.  
  
"Oh! Yeah, uh, sure." He attempted a friendly smile as the girl walked away, stopping once to look over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow.  
  
Cid shook his head. "There was no monster," he said quietly. "Except Vincent."  
  
Rufus turned to him, confused. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Vince lost control," replied Barret, almost to himself. "He turned into Chaos."  
  
  
  
Vincent looked like he had gotten into a fight with the Devil himself. As he lay unconscious on Rufus's bed, Yuffie gazed at him, wondering what could possibly have happened to him. His porcelain face was smeared with dirt and blood, and there were dark circles under his long-lashed eyes. His clothes were torn, *shredded* in someplaces, especially on his back. But tucked safely under his cape was a framed picture of himself and Yuffie, from that rainy day in Junon. Yuffie felt a pang in her heart as she stared at it. She had never known how much she meant to him.  
  
Lying there, he had never looked so defenseless, not even during the battle with Sephiroth, and it scared her. She figured he must have tranformed into that hateful creature, Chaos. In which case, Vincent really had fought with the Devil... and had lost.  
  
The moment after Vincent had strode weakly toward Yuffie and promised her he would never leave again, he had stumbled forward, leaning heavily against her. Reno had to grab him by the arm to prevent both of them from falling to the floor. Shortly after they had half-carried, half-hauled him to Rufus's room and eased him onto the bed, Tifa came home. Shocked, she quickly raced to the PHS to call Cloud. As they all waited for the ex-mercenary to arrive, Vincent grew increasingly weaker. After his human hand lifted up to stroke Yuffie's cheek one last time, his delirous red eyes fluttered closed, and he fell into an impossibly deep sleep.   
  
As Yuffie knelt beside the bed and wiped his face clean with a damp cloth, she was at a loss of what to feel. She had been preparing for this moment ever since her somber companion had left. Her original plan had been to tell Vincent exactly what she thought of his little field trip. Give him a piece of her mind. Make him feel terrible for what he did to her; to *all* of them.  
  
But now that he was here, she felt no anger. She felt happy, hurt, confused, relieved, worried... but not angry.  
  
Cloud came quietly into the room, putting his hand on Yuffie's shoulder. "How's he doing?" he asked softly.  
  
"No better, no worse," she replied, her eyes straying to the sleeping gunman.  
  
"And what about you? Feeling any better?"  
  
She nodded. "Yeah, actually. I don't have a fever, and I haven't coughed for a really long time. I was wondering when I would ever use blankets again," she added jokingly.  
  
The blonde laughed, relieved by the break in tension.  
  
"Hey, Cloud?"  
  
"Yeah, Yuff?"  
  
The ninja fingered Vincent's tattered black sleeve absently. "What did you... How did you feel when Vinnie left?"  
  
"A lot of things," he said, shrugging slightly. "I was sad, of course. I mean, he may think that no one cares about him, but we do." He sighed. "I was angry more than anything."  
  
She looked at him hard. "Are you angry now?"  
  
He blinked. "Now that I think about it, no. I'm relieved, and still offended that he left in the first place. But I'm not mad."  
  
"Neither am I," she said, tracing her fingers over Vincent's.   
  
Suddenly the pale digits twitched, and Vincent languidly opened his garnet eyes. He stared up at Yuffie for a long time, an unfathomable tenderness in those sanguine orbs. He slowly lifted his tarnished claw to enfold her slender hand in both of his. No words were spoken.  
  
But Cloud knew what was happening even without words to support his conviction: Vincent was in love. And it was not with Lucrecia.  
  
  
  
//*sigh* Breathe in the Vincent/Yuffie goodness. But don't get your hopes up yet, peeps! We've still got a ways to go before my tale is finished. Look for the next chapter; hopefully you won't have to wait as long.// 


	12. Chapter Eleven

//Hope I didn't make you wait too long! Anyway, thanks for all the reviews. *grins bashfully* Um, oh yeah, I must assure you: This chapter is not the end.//  
  
Chapter 11  
  
  
  
"Cloud!" exclaimed Reeve irritably. "Tifa! Why didn't you guys tell me Yuff was better? Just because you're not looking at Cait Sith doesn't mean you're not looking at the same person!" He had driven straight to the Strife home after a call from Tifa, ending his conference abruptly.  
  
Reno leaned toward Elena and Rude. "Did that make any sense to you?" he asked under his breath. Elena shook her head.  
  
"We left a message with your secretary," said Tifa defensively, placing her gloved hands on her hips. "But I guess since you're always so busy, what with being the mayor of Midgar, you didn't have time to check your memos?"  
  
Reeve smiled sheepishly, his bronze eyes shifting to the floor. "You know, you should feel lucky. You guys are the only ones allowed to talk to me like that."  
  
"Anyway," said Cloud, rolling his eyes, "Yuffie's with Vincent now, if you want to go say hi."  
  
"Aww, no, I couldn't do that," Reeve replied, winking. "I'm sure them folks need to work a few things out. Besides, I wouldn't want to interrupt them during something... you know... important."  
  
"Reeve!" Tifa said indignantly. Forgetting her own strength, she punched him hard on the arm. The man winced, rubbing the rapidly forming bruise.  
  
Suddenly the door burst open. Rufus Shin-ra strode in, followed by Barret and Cid. Rufus wore a baggy white shirt, most likely Cid's, for any of Barret's would have made the boy look like he was wearing a tent. All three wore fatigue in their faces, and their shoulders slumped considerably. I short, they looked exhausted.  
  
Unfortunately, weariness was no match for deep-seated resentment toward the Turks and a large ex-mercenary's rage. "What the ^&*# are dem Turks doin' here!?" bellowed Barret angrily the second he came through the door. Reno and Elena glared at him irritably, but Rude simply stood tall and rock-like, oblivios to his outburst.  
  
Ignoring Barret, Tifa ran up to Rufus, embracing him tightly. "Rufus!!" she cried, locking the boy in a deathgrip. Tears began streaming down her cheeks. "We were so worried about you! Thank God you're safe!"  
  
Rufus smiled, squeezing his friend's arm. "Thanks, Teef. You didn't have to worry, I'm okay." He closed his eyes in shame. "But I didn't find Vincent."  
  
"The Shin-ra mansion's completely gone," said Cid, uncharacteristically serious. "Burnt to the ground. No Vince."  
  
"What are you guys talkin' about!?" said Reno, shaking his head. "Vampire Boy's upstairs with Kisaragi right now!"  
  
Rufus's eyes widened. "What!?"  
  
  
  
"What happened to you, Vinnie?"  
  
Vincent raised himself to a sitting position on Rufus's bed, his brow creasing ever so slightly in pain. For a while he simply stared at Yuffie. "Chaos happened," he finally said in a low voice.   
  
The young ninja blinked. "Chaos did *that* to you?"  
  
"Yes," he replied, nodding. "He told me... in a way... that you were in danger. I left Nibelheim, determined to see you again. I walked the entire way."  
  
"No wonder you're so exhausted!" she cried, taking his claw in her hands. She looked at it for a while, turning it back and forth. Finally she lifted her head to stare at him. "Why?" she simply asked.  
  
His crimson gaze met her slate grey one, and he sighed. "Forgive me, Yuffie, it seemed like the only option at the time." He looked out the window, some undetectable emotion in his eyes. "I am not a good person, Yuffie. Lucrecia died because of me. You would be better off never having met me."  
  
"You think I care?" said Yuffie, anger finally seeping into her voice. "Leaving was the worst thing you could have possibly done to me. I know that if anything happened to me, you would blame yourself. That's just who you are. But you shouldn't think like that!" Her grip tightened on his claw, even though she knew he could not feel it. "You need to stop feeling so guilty about things you haven't done," she said softly.  
  
Vincent suddenly turned back to face her. Gently, carefully, he slid his arms around her waist, pulling her next to him on the bed. "And you need to stop worrying about me," he whispered, giving her the full force of a genuine Vincent Valentine smile.  
  
Yuffie stared dumbly at him, not knowing whether to kiss him or punch him in the face for breaking down her defenses with that flawless smile. Before she could decide, however, the smile faded, leaving only a melancholy expression on Vincent's alabaster features. "What's wrong?" she asked, frowning.  
  
"I... I only wish I had never left, and spared you, and everyone else the pain." He squeezed his eyes shut. "I was so selfish."  
  
Yuffie took a deep breath. "Rufus left, you know."  
  
Vincent looked up at her sharply. "What?"  
  
"He promised," she continued, her voice wavering, "that he'd find you, and b-bring you back to me. He said that... even if he didn't come back, I'd... I'd see you again. He did that for me."  
  
"Then it is my fault he is gone," Vincent said quietly, hanging his head.  
  
Yuffie shook her head. "No, it's my fault! I should have told him..." she trailed off, not daring to finish her sentence.  
  
But Vincent knew what she had meant to say. He raised his eyes to look at her. They were filled with hurt, disappointment, and a dismal acceptance. "You should have told him... that you love him?"  
  
Her lower lip began to tremble. She turned away, hiding the tears that began to flow down her flushed cheeks. "I don't know," she breathed, trying to wipe her cheeks dry. "I don't know what to feel anymore. It all started that snowy night last winter, when you... you almost kissed me. Then you just left, and all I wanted was to see you again. But..." She suddenly smiled through her tears. "But Rufus was there all along. He was right beside me, through all the pain, and I didn't even realize how much he cared. Until he left, too." She looked up at Vincent, fresh tears streaming from her eyes. "And now you're here, and I'm at a total loss! What should I feel, who should I feel it for? I just don't know!"  
  
"&*#$!!" she suddenly shouted, punching Vincent in the chest. "Why did you have to love me?!"  
  
He seized her wrist with his claw, stroking her fingers with his human hand. "Because you made it impossible for me not to," he whispered earnestly, drawing her close to him. "I am happy, Yuffie. I never thought I would say it, but it's true." He reached under his cape and pulled out the picture frame. The picture of a grinning ninja and a somber gunman, both soaked from the falling rain. "And not just happy on the inside," he added, smiling gently. "And it's all because of you."  
  
After Vincent had set the picture carefully on the bedside, he lifted his right hand to caress Yuffie's cheek. The girl swallowed hard as the pale fingers traced down her nose, across her lips, and over to the nape of her neck. Shivers erupted from every inch of skin that came in contact with his graceful fingertips, and her breath caught in her throat as his hand came to rest on her back and pulled her against his hard chest. With his brass claw, he tilted her chin up slowly and leaned forward.  
  
So that was what it felt like to kiss a monster. It was more enjoyable than Yuffie would have guessed.  
  
Seconds seemed like hours as Vincent's warm lips pressed against hers. Though his claw buried its wicked digits in her hair, every movement had an astonishing tenderness. Yuffie felt powerless as he deepened the kiss, moaning almost inaudibly. She had never been kissed before, but she had a feeling that this was a very commendable one.  
  
*No!* she thought wildly. *This isn't right! I can't do this to--*  
  
She ended her frenzied thoughts abruptly as she heard a small, stifled sob. Vincent pulled away from her in shock, his crimson eyes wide.  
  
There, in the doorway, trembling from head to toe, stood Rufus Shin-ra. He was holding his hands against his gaunt chest, fingering the collar of his pure white, oversized shirt. Tears shimmered in his endless sky-blue eyes, and he bit his shaking lip and looked down at the floor.  
  
"And that's how it goes, I guess," he whispered, nodding in defeat. Slowly, he turned his back to them and walked out of the room.  
  
  
  
//Sorry this is a bit shorter than the other ones. But I didn't want to go any further just yet, so I left it the way it is. *bursts into tears* My poor Rufie! Sparrow still loves you! Aaaagh, whoops, forget I said that. Anyway, I hoped you liked this chapter!// 


	13. Chapter Twelve

//Once again, thank you all for your reviews and your interest in my story. I'm so happy it's lasted this long... *sobs* Juuuust kidding, folks. Oh yeah, just a warning to you all: this chapter may disappoint some of you. I'm sorry, but I wrote this story to express myself, not to please you. So... flame me if you want, but this is how it's going to be.  
  
...Here goes nothing.//  
  
Chapter 12  
  
  
  
A blur of white and gold, Rufus stumbled blindly down the stairs into the living room, where the others were waiting, breathless with anticipation. Tifa stepped forward cautiously, placing a gloved hand on the boy's thin shoulder. "What happened?" she asked, as casual as she could manage.  
  
She was in the dark until she noticed the tears on Rufus's cheeks.  
  
"Oh, honey, what's wrong?" she asked, letting her arm slide off his shoulder to grip his hand tightly. "Rufus, tell me what happened, please!"  
  
He ran a shaking hand through his untidy blonde locks and sniffed. Shaking his head, he gave a low, shuddering sigh. "At least I know Yuffie's happy," he whispered, brushing past the young woman.  
  
Her burgundy eyes followed the slight figure as it made its way toward the front door. "Rufus, wait!" she cried, beginning to panic. Who knew what the boy might do in his condition? "Where are you going, sweetie?"  
  
"Out," was the simple response as Rufus threw the door open carelessly.  
  
Tifa clenched her fists in frustration. "Rufus, you get back here!" When he ignored her, she caught up to him and wrapped her arms around him tightly, refusing to release him. "I'm not letting you go until you tell me where you're going, and you'd better tell the truth!"  
  
"I hadn't really thought about it," the boy replied, letting his head fall against her shoulder. "Maybe I'll borrow one of Cloud's chocobos and ride to the beach."  
  
"Then take Cloud or Reno with you," she insisted, resting her hand on the back of his head. "Please, Rufus. I don't want you to do anything that... that might..." she stopped, swallowing a lump in her throat.  
  
He pulled away from her, giving her a smile that nearly broke her heart. "Don't worry, Teef," he said softly, squeezing her hand for reassurance. "I won't do anything stupid. I just... want to be alone for a while. Okay?"  
  
Tifa nodded, sniffing loudly. "Okay."  
  
  
  
Yuffie lay curled up on Rufus's bed, her knees drawn up to her chest. Crimson eyes followed her as she rocked back and forth, the mattress springs creaking slightly. "Yuffie, darling?" asked Vincent quietly. "Are you all right?"  
  
"No, no, no, no!" she cried, burying her face into her hands. "This can't be happening! I'm the worst person on the Planet!"  
  
The gunman sat beside her, rubbing her back lightly. "I do wish you wouldn't say things like that," he said, shaking his head. "None of this is your fault. If anything, I am the one to blame for kissing you." He lifted her chin with a gentle finger. "You are completely faultless. Do you understand?"  
  
She closed her eyes and nodded. "But I still feel horrible," she muttered. "The last thing I would ever let *anyone* do is hurt Rufus, and now I've gone and done it myself." She took a deep breath. "What should I do, Vinnie?"  
  
He opened his mouth to answer, but at that moment Cloud burst into the room, followed by Barret and Cid. The airship pilot's blue-grey eyes widened as he puffed on his cigarette. "Vince, where the #%$^ have you been? Thought you could just walk out on AVALANCHE, just like that? No such luck, Vampire Boy!"  
  
Vincent merely glared at him in response. Yuffie looked at Cid, then Barret, then Cid again. "What are you guys doing here? And oh yeah, hi."  
  
"We was worried 'bout you, kid," said Barret, ruffling her hair with his massive hand. "You okay?"  
  
The ninja smiled, moved that they had actually wanted to see her. "Yeah, thanks, guys."  
  
Cloud nudged Cid with his elbow. "Uhh, think I could talk to Vincent and Yuffie alone for a minute?"  
  
Barret nodded and left the room. Cid grinned and tapped Yuffie lightly on the nose. "Don't scare us like that again, okay, brat?"  
  
She crossed her arms over her chest and stifled a laugh as her eyes followed the blonde out of the room. *He sure has a twisted way of showing his affections,* she thought.  
  
"Look, guys," said Cloud, sitting down in a chair beside the bed. "I'm not sure what happened, but..." His Mako blue eyes met Vincent's glowing red ones. "Whatever it was, it got Rufus really upset."  
  
Yuffie bit her lip and waited for him to continue.  
  
"I'm not going to force it out of you, I'm just--"  
  
"I kissed Yuffie," said Vincent immediately, causing the girl to let out a little gasp.  
  
Cloud blinked. "Well, so that wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Umm..." Scratching the back of his neck, he turned to Yuffie. "You know how Rufus feels about you, Yuff," he said softly. "...Do you know how you feel about him?"  
  
She looked down at her feet, wishing she could make herself invisible. The entire time Vincent had been kissing her, all she had thought of was Rufus, and how much it would hurt him if he had seen. And now that he had, she wanted to hold him and tell him she had never wanted it. She wanted him, but she had been too blind to see it.  
  
But Vincent... Vincent loved her. How could she break his heart? His life was filled with enough pain and torment already. The first woman he had ever loved had been killed, and he blamed himself. Leviathan knew how he would react if Yuffie told him...  
  
If Yuffie told him she loved Rufus.  
  
Well, that answered Cloud's question.  
  
"Yuffie," came Vincent's tender voice, and she looked up at him as he rested his claw on her shoulder. "Go to him."  
  
Her stormy grey eyes widened. "Vincent, what--"  
  
"I know you love him," he continued in a hushed whisper. "You have done a very poor job of hiding it." He smiled sadly. "It would be wrong of me to keep you from being happy."  
  
Yuffie stared into the bottomless red depths of his eyes, unable to think of any response that might express her gratitude. Finally she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt his hands rest on her back, and she squeezed her eyes shut, weaving her fingers into his soft black hair. He had given up everything; risked his own life to return to her, only to lose her, *willingly*, to someone else. If she had ever met a more gracious man, she could not remember for the life of her.  
  
Her mouth close to his ear, she whispered, "Thank you, Vinnie."  
  
He gave her a gentle pat on the back and pulled away. "Now run along," he said, fighting the urge to pull her against him and refuse to let her leave. "Go find Rufus."  
  
She nodded and turned to Cloud. "Do you know where he is?"  
  
"He mentioned something about taking one of the chocobos to the beach," he replied, feeling like a very unwanted presence during this emotional moment.  
  
Yuffie sprinted past him out the door, then with a quick thought, turned around and sprinted back into the room. She bent down in front of Vincent, placing a hand on his pale cheek and giving him a soft kiss that bore no promise of passion with it, only friendship and immense gratefulness. Vincent knew this, and it showed in his eyes as she pulled away from him.  
  
As he watched her dash out of the room once more, he let out a faint sigh. "I did it again, Cloud," he said softly, resting his chin upon his hand. "I let another one slip through my fingers."  
  
  
  
Yuffie hopped easily onto her chocobo Hibiscus and kicked her sides lightly, sending the bird off toward Midgar Beach at breakneck speed. She squinted her eyes, looking for some glimpse of golden hair on the distant horizon. Finally she could make out a small figure standing barefoot on the sand, seawater lapping at his ankles. If Rufus had noticed her presence, he had not acknowledged it.  
  
The young ninja dismounted her chocobo, tying its reins to a large piece of driftwood. She stood for a while, just taking in the sight of that poor, sweet boy. The ocean breeze whipped through Rufus's flaxen hair, causing his bangs to brush against his forehead. His eyes were an even more intense shade of blue than the sea that they were fixed on. His light beige slacks were rolled up to the middle of his calves, and his loose, billowy shirt was so white it almost appeared to glow. Yuffie found herself swallowing a lump in her throat. He looked so breakable.  
  
She bit her lip and walked slowly toward him, her sneakers crunching in the wet sand. Suddenly her mind went blank, and she could no longer recall the speech that she had prepared for this moment. Finally she simply said, "Hey."  
  
Rufus turned to her, gazing at her with his arresting blue eyes. "Hey," he replied in a soft, fragile voice. As an afterthought, he added, "I'm glad you're feeling better."  
  
Yuffie smiled slightly. "Thanks, Rufie." She paused, wishing she could just come out and say what she had been practicing so hard to say. Suddenly she shook her head, embarrassed at her own hesitation. "Oh, Rufus, I'm so sorry!"  
  
"It's okay, Yuff," he said, giving her a sad smile. "You don't need to spare my feelings. I'm just... glad you're happy with Vincent."  
  
"No, you don't understand!" she cried, clenching her fists. "I'm *not* happy with Vinnie! I'm happy with *you*!"  
  
Rufus's mouth opened slightly, but he quickly shut it.  
  
"I was so stupid, Rufus! The entire time I was moaning and bellyaching about Vincent leaving, you were right there with me. I never knew how much you cared, until it was too late! But Vincent..." She shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. "When he kissed me, the only thing I thought about was how it would make you feel! I should have known. I... I should have known..."  
  
She suddenly felt slim arms around her, pulling her against a fragile chest clothed in perfect white. "Yuffie," Rufus murmured, nuzzling his nose on her forehead. "I don't blame you, or anyone. All I need to know is... how do you feel?"  
  
Yuffie raised her eyes to meet his. She heard her heart pounding relentlessly in her ears, but she could not refuse the look of inquiry in those abyssal blue depths. "I..." she began, her voice quivering, "I love you."  
  
She could feel his heart slamming against his ribcage as his chest rose and fell against her. He looked as though he was about to say something, but he shook his head, abandoning that thought. Letting his fingers graze her cheek, he tilted his head slightly and pressed his lips to hers. The entire Planet fell away from them as they shared their first kiss, oblivious to the wind and surf around them. All that mattered was each other. Yuffie had never known she could feel so utterly whole, and the feeling was almost as intoxicating as the sensation of Rufus's soft lips roaming over hers. She lifted her arm and caressed the delicate hairs on the back of his neck, then lowered it to rest on his back, fearing that he might shatter like glass in her embrace.  
  
Finally they broke away, and Rufus buried his face in Yuffie's neck, breathing deeply. "Ah, Yuffie, my pet," he said in an undertone, his lips moving against her collar bone, "You and I, we weell make zuch beauteeful muzeec togezer."  
  
Yuffie laughed, bending down to kiss his forehead.  
  
  
  
//Ahhhhhhhh. Did you like it? Hate it? Probably the latter. *dodges rotten fruit thrown by all the Vincent/Yuffie fans* Hey, didn't I warn you? Fine, okay, you've beaten it out of me. There's going to be an epilogue. So, technically, it's not over yet. Leave a review, please; I don't care how nasty it is. I just like to think I make a difference.// 


	14. Epilogue

//Told ya it wasn't over! Just wanted to give you all some comfort after I disappointed you horribly.//  
  
Epilogue  
  
  
  
Four years later...  
  
Above the the rumble of rushing water, footsteps made by boots tipped with metal echoed through the dark cave. The footsteps paused for a brief moment, then continued toward a grouping of various sized crystals, which emitted a soft blue glow. A tall man dressed in a maroon jacket, a light grey shirt, and a pair of jeans stood still, his crimson eyes focused on the ground in front of him.  
  
A small, square stone lay on the floor of the cave. It read, 'Lucrecia Bethany Parkfield - She will forever be known for her sacrifice.'  
  
"Hello, Lucrecia," the man said, his soft, strangely accented voice reverberating within the cave. He knelt down in front of the grave, placing a bouquet of lilies on the modest headstone with a hand made of tarnished brass.  
  
After a moment of silence, he spoke again. "I'm sorry I have not visited you for quite some time," he said, brushing a few strands of raven hair out of his eyes. "The past few years have been very hectic. Rufus Shin-ra is alive, you know. Apparently he cast Wall on himself before the blast from WEAPON. But do not worry; he is a changed man now. Though I still think of him as a boy, despite the fact he is twenty-five."  
  
The man sighed, a lonely sound in an even lonelier place. "He is a good lad, I must say. He loves Yuffie dearly; perhaps even more than I do. If anyone deserves a place in her heart, it is most definitely him." Suddenly he laughed, a quiet rumble from his throat. "Listen to me, I sound like some bloody git waxing philosophical." The corners of his lips turned up into an amused smile. "I'm sure you noticed the way I look now. No more somber black and red, I suppose. Never thought I would say it, but you can't dwell on the past forever."  
  
Ruby orbs fixed on the grave, he shook his head. "I still love her, Lucrecia. Even though I know I can never have her, I still love her. After all, you've been gone for thirty-five years, and I love you as much as I always did. I always *will* love you, Lucrecia. Just as I will always love Yuffie."  
  
The fingers of his human hand traced the edge of the stone. "Well, anyway, I imagine you tire of my ramblings. I just... knew I could tell you." He lifted his arm, and pressing two fingers against his lips, he rested them briefly on the marbled surface. Then, standing to a full six feet in height, the man turned on his heel and walked out of the cave, the metallic sound of his footsteps mingling with the gushing clamor of the waterfall outside.  
  
  
  
//The (finally) End.// 


End file.
